Challenge for Myself
by InkSanity
Summary: Hopefully, a one-shot for every single character on the Harry Potter list from this site, in order. Starting with Andrew Kirke and ending with Lev Zograf. Little crazy, but I'm up for the challenge. T for language and later character one-shots. Enjoy!
1. Andrew Kirke, The Beater

Andrew Kirke.

"What the hell is wrong with you Andrew?! Get your bloody head in the game!" she called at me with her fiery locks rushing through the sky. "What's wrong with you?!" she yelled again. I wasn't even acknowledging her honestly. Well, I made eye contact, but I wasn't doing as she said.

I find Ginny Weasley a ridiculous human being. She's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but she's incredibly _stupid_. Does she not realize the only reason Sloper and I joined the quidditch team was to get to know her? I mean _come on_! We suck. I honestly believe they have a better chance of winning if I don't play…Damn…Mom was right. I really do have the self esteem of a Bubotuber plant on a hot day.

I rolled my eyes at myself as I finally just lazily flew around to make Ginny shut up about me not doing anything. I really thought she was different for some reason. I don't know why, but I pictured her as innocent. Someone who needed protecting and love. Someone who cared about everyone and everything. Someone who needed a self esteem boost kinda like myself…boy was I wrong.

I shook my head trying to block out all of the annoyed Gryffindors shouting my name. It was stupid of me to think she'd be a different person, but she's not. She's a selfish witch who doesn't even know I exist…no matter how much I want her to.

God Andrew, you're such a hopeless romantic! It's pathetic! Absolutely pathetic! You need to buck up man! Find yourself a new girl…but for some damn reason your heart always seems to fly about that bitchy little red head. She doesn't understand you and she never will.

I looked out into the crowd. There were a lot of mixed looking faces. Some were furious as they looked at my frozen state on the field. "MOVE YOU STUPID MORON!" most called at me. Great…even _they_ don't know my name and it's on my freaking jersey!

Some were sneering at my pitiful state. Mostly Hufflepuffs trying to toy with me. "SCARED GRYFINNDOR?!" they all cooed. "CAN'T EVEN MOVE YOU'RE SO PETRIFIED OF US! HOW SAD!"

Shut the hell up. Stupid Hufflepuffs don't even know what their talking about. I continued to gaze at the crowd to see my Head of House McGonagall looking at me rather disappointedly…no…embarrassed is probably the better word. She, like everyone else on this team is embarrassed of me.

"MOVE KIRKE!" Ginny screamed at me again. "WHAT IS YOUR BLOODY PROBLEM?!"

"YOU!" I wanted to shout, but kept it inside. My chest burned with agitation. If she were gone I could actually play. I could actually focus. I could actually make my mother proud. I could actually be _someone_! But with you Ginny Weasley, I'm nothing! You beat me into a pulp without even trying! I hate you to my very core and yet I love you all the same! What could I possibly do to make you see me as more than a pest that you have to deal with every quidditch practice?

"Nothing," my mind cooed to me softly with resentment in its dark tone. "She'll never notice you. She'll never care for you. She'll never know you exist. She'll probably never look at you again after today. So suck the fuck up and just live with it! Ginny Weasley is a bitch. She's a player. She's nothing…but the girl I absolutely love.

I rolled my eyes at myself again. Boy, you sure know how to switch a conversation up Kirke. I made another sluggish lap of the field and didn't realize that people were booing. I figured it was me, but this time it wasn't. I looked about the field trying to determine the source of the angry crowd, but then realized the score.

Ron had let in another Quaffle. Typical. I rolled my eyes yet again and continued to loll about the field still thinking it'd be better if I stayed out of the way. It was already a disaster down there. No sense in making it worse.

Surprising my senses completely I heard Ginny call my name again, more worried than anything this time. "KIRKE! LOOK OUT!" I turned to see that bastard Zacharias Smith beaming maliciously as he gunned right for me.

Unintentionally screaming like the little baby I am, lost control of my bloody broomstick and fell from the stick. The crowd gasped, but I was oddly happy. Why the hell am I happy to falling from the sky? Shouldn't I still be screaming like the little girl I am?

Nope. Not me. I have a huge grin on my face. It's over. I thought. It's over. No more Ginny Weasley. No more disgusted looks. No more hate mail. No more bat bogey hexes. No more Ginny Weasley. No more darkness. No more loneliness. No more pep talks from McGonagall. No more pressure. No more self esteem issues. No more Ginny Weasley. No more cruelty. No more guilt. No more bullying. No more wars between good and evil. No more anything bad in this world…but most of all. The bane of my existence…no more bloody Ginny Weasley. I beamed feeling such relief and yet such confusion at these supposedly morbid feelings.

I flew for the sky waiting for such relief to come, but it never did. Maybe I was already gone? I smiled at this thought and opened my eyes ready to see the beauty beyond words of heaven, but unfortunately saw the quidditch field looking greyer than ever before. Tears pooled into my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away.

Don't be stupid Andrew. You're strong. You've handled so much. You sound incredibly pathetic and whiney. Like one of those teenaged girls that say_ life's just not fair_. Really Andrew? You're making such a fuss over a _girl_? Your life is much more than Hogwarts and being a beater for the Gryffindor quidditch team. You're smart. You're insightful. You have good grades. The relationships you do have are perfect and just right for you. You're a good kid. Your mother raised you right. And dude, you're just plain fucking awesome. Admit it.

You deserve the confidence Ginny Weasley has. She shouldn't beat you down everyday of your life. She doesn't have the right to. I mean, come on! You're the Beater for god's sakes! Of course you would never stoop down to her levels, but you deserve someone better than her.

You deserve someone that can actually look you in the eye. Someone who wants to be near you and care about you. Someone who's innocent and angelic that won't even hurt a fly. Someone who cares about everyone and everything no matter who they are. Someone I can talk to. Someone who would raise my confidence instead of bring it down.

I know I deserve better. Not only from her, but from all aspects of my life. My life is not going to beat me down anymore. I deserve better. I know I do. I should of known this all along and I'm not going to let it happen again. If life beats me down once more, I'll just beat it back up; because you know what…I'm the Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I beat away the bad feelings that are the Bludgers and stride on protecting others from these feelings. I am a Beater. Not only in quidditch, but now, I can be one in my life. I'll knock away the bludgers that kill me on the inside and replace them with golden snitches.

I am a Beater. And I _know_ there's a better world for me out there.


	2. Aidan Lynch, Nosedive

Aidan Lynch

"Nose Diver?" I laughed at the ridiculous name. It's embarrassing some of the pet names the Daily Prophet comes up with for us Quidditch players. Couldn't they think of something a little more original? "That's the most accurate, yet lamest nickname I've ever heard." I was talking to my girlfriend Evanna who was sitting at the table also laughing at the ridiculous name.

"At least they're honest." she smiled at me with her white blonde hair still prettily untidy from just getting up out of bed. She looked tired still as I poured us both some coffee and brought it over to her. She grinned at me appreciatively and showed me the article. I couldn't help but grin at the image of me face planting the ground over and over again. Though it killed like hell when it happened, it's still amusing to see what I actually did.

""I'm surprised he's not permanently brain damaged" , says owner Morey Collins comically," Evanna just burst at the comment my supervisor allowed them to write. "What a lovely boss you have Darling."

"I know," I grinned sipping my coffee. "He's such a sweetheart."

She giggled once more at the story and flipped the page as her grey eyes dashed across the newspaper to read the latest scoop from that atrocious witch Rita Skeeter. I rolled my eyes, "I still can't believe you read that crap."

"Neither can I." she shrugged as her hair fell from her shoulders and onto her back. "But it's entertaining to see what she says. Though she may be a bitch, she certainly has an entertaining opinion about things."

"Nothing _The Queen of the Quills_ says is true." I emphasized her supposed nickname that she probably made up herself just to better her self esteem. "You know that right?"

"Yeah, but like I said," she looked up at me with a little smile. "It's entertaining. Now shut up and let me read Aidan."

I couldn't help but grin as I gulped my coffee down just trying to wake myself up. My throat felt as if it was ablaze with fire, but at least it woke me up. I cleared my throat noisily trying to put out the fire and Evanna looked up at me with an amused look on her little face. "Too hot for my Nose Diver?"

I couldn't help but laugh through the coughs, "Don't you start calling me that too Evanna."

She smirked as if she were a perfect little angel and sipped her coffee daintily, "Oh I won't. Just for the day maybe."

"Cute." I smirked still coughing. "Now -" I coughed again. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."

"Have fun, but please don't nosedive in there for me, okay?"

"Shut up." I smirked and I could hear her giggling as I exited the room.

This is absolutely _perfect_! She doesn't suspect _a thing_! I quickly ran to our room and shut the door making sure the blinds were closed and everything just in case she decided to go outside for an unlikely walk. I beamed. Today's the day. I just know it. I've been waiting for a day like this for ages and now it's finally come!

The day where she doesn't expect me to be anything but a stupid nose diver trying to make her laugh. Today's the day I become a man. Today's the day I ask the woman I love to become my wife!

You can fucking _do this _man!

I grinned as I motivated myself and opened my drawer to find the little black box hidden underneath all my emerald green Quidditch gear. I opened the box to find the ring I spent a bloody fortune on. I had it made by goblins because everyone knows they're the best with this kind of thing. It was silver gold and had a beautiful big diamond in the middle. Surrounding the diamond were the tiniest sapphires that refracted the light beautifully with the diamond.

I had chosen sapphires to neighbour the diamond due to the fact that we were both in the Ravenclaw house back at Hogwarts. That's where we got to know each other and fell in love…well, that's where I fell in love with her at least.

Honestly, I would have asked her to marry me years ago, but she wanted me to start my Quidditch career and she wanted to start her work at the ministry. We actually broke up for a while there…and I don't really want to think about that time…talk about a nosedive. My life went from perfect to absolute hell in an instant.

But then, we both realized how stupid that decision was and got back together and here we are today. Five years later and still going strong. And I hope to fortify that even more. I'm not going to lose her again. That's just not an option for me. Evanna's my rock and she's the only girl out there for me. I don't want anyone else. Just her.

And honestly, I know if I ever truly do nosedive out of my Quidditch career and fame she'll still love me. Come to think of it, I think she'd be happy if I didn't play Quidditch anymore. She's always so paranoid when I'm out on the field and boy! Whenever I _literally_ nosedive she freaks and starts to have a panic attack thinking I've died or something.

Sweet, Sweet Evanna. I'm not dead. Though I feel like I'm dying, but I promise you, I'm not dead. My head can always be screwed back on by the wonderful magic that wizard doctors can produce.

I rolled my eyes at my recollection. Know what Nosedive? I think now's the time. Time to make Evanna yours for life. You want that?

Hell yes.

Then go get it man.

I took a deep breath and chuckled at myself. You know what you're doing dude, you can do this. Strutting out of the bedroom trying to get be charming, I opened the door and continued my strut down the hallway.

Of course being me, as soon as I entered the kitchen, I dropped the little box on the floor. Damn it!

Evanna looked up at me and then looked down onto the floor. She reached for the little box that had stubbornly slid towards her, but I quickly ran for it. "DON'T!" Damn it! I tripped over my own two feet and fell to the floor like a drunken house elf.

"Aidan!" Evanna got up out of her chair and reached out for me. "Oh my god, are you alright?!"

I touched my face and winced at the slight pain coming from my nose as my fingers brushed over it. I looked at my hand realizing the blood. "Fuck." I literally banged my head against the floor in frustration.

Evanna looked at me sternly, "I thought I told you not to nosedive for me!"

I laughed in pain, "That was only in the shower."

"Are you alright?" she gently lifted me up and I couldn't help but smile. This is the time.

"Yeah." I grinned and her look became shocked.

"What's with the smile? You just smashed your face into the floor."

"Open that box over there." I gestured to the little black box over by the table as she leant me against the wall. I held my head back waiting for my nosebleed to stop a bit.

She crawled over to the box and brought it back over on her hands and knees. "Let me fix your nose first."

"No." I insisted. "Open the damn box."

She rolled her eyes and opened it with a giggle.

And to this day I'm so happy to say I nosedived when I proposed to my beautiful wife Evanna Lynch_._


	3. Aberforth Dumbledore, Hero

Aberforth Dumbledore

"Ariana," I gently called for my stubborn little sister because she was wandering a bit too far for my liking. "Where are you going Little Miss?"

She turned her head with a flip of her hair glowing in the sunlight, "No where Abbey!" she beamed at me with her azure eyes glowing with happiness. I couldn't help but smile as rolled my eyes at her embarrassing nickname for me, "I thought I told you about that name in public Air."

"Too bad Abbey." she smiled still feeding the goat she'd named Kipper because apparently he smelled similar to fish. "I like your nickname. You should like it too. Kipper likes it a lot, don't you boy?" she pat the goat affectionately on the head as she fed him the oats I'd bought for us to share.

I smiled at her as she turned back to Kipper. She didn't realize how much she made my day. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be without Ariana. Albus is off in his own little world with that ass Gellert and doesn't even really care for us.

I get that he doesn't care for me, but our sweet innocent sister? She deserves so much more than what she has. She didn't deserve to be attacked by those horrendous muggles. She's too innocent. I mean, how could anyone _want_ to hurt such an innocent little girl?

She interrupted my thoughts by approaching me in that old blue dress mother had bought for her years ago. She's stubborn and never wants to take it off. She says it's her favourite, but honestly, I think she just hates wearing clean clothes for some reason.

"Can I have more oats for Kipper? He's hungry still!" she smiled at me with her blue eyes looking at me like I was her idol. I never understand it when she looks at me like this. I mean, why would I be her idol? Sure, I take care of her, but Albus is much more of a role model than me. He's literally the man parents want their son to be… He has the grades, he has the many titles of greatness, he has the awards, he has the magical ability, he has the ambition, he has everything…why would Ariana think of me as an idol?

I nodded giving her the oats which she took appreciatively with a huge grin. She walked back over to Kipper and continued to offer him oats, but I honestly think he was full. I chuckled to myself; I've never seen a goat turn away food before because he was full. Usually, they're bottomless pits that never stop eating.

I laughed softly watching sweet Air try to offer the goat more food because according to her, he was apparently still hungry. "Why not try and feeding another goat Ariana?"

"No no no!" she fussed. "Kipper's my goat. I feed Kipper!"

"Alright. Alright." I gave in. "Fine, feed Kipper."

I chuckled again watching her trying to feed the stubborn goat. They really were made for each other. Both as stubborn as asses. "Come on Kipper," she offered him food again, but the goat turned away. "Abbey!" she called. "Why isn't he eating? Is he sick?"

"No no Airy!" I gently chuckled. "He's just full. You've fed him enough."

"Oh!" she sighed in relief as she pat the goats head. "Good! I wouldn't want you to be sick Kipper."

I laughed softly realizing where the sun was in the sky. Jeez, it's probably dinner time, "Alright Air," I said gathering our bags. "We better go. Dinner's probably on the table."

"Do we _have_ to go Abbey?" she sighed. "I don't wanna go. I hate home."

"Don't say that Air." I said gently, though I have to admit, I've kind of felt that way at times too. I'll never say that to her though. "You love it at home."

"No I don't." she said dreamily as she pet the goat. "I wish I could run away with Kipper and we'd go and have adventures together."

I smirked, amused by this idea, "Oh really? What kind of adventures?"

"Any kind. I just wish I could leave this place. I would want you to come with me though. It'd be scary without you." she said still looking at the goat but I knew she was still talking to me.

"You would want me to come with you?" I said a little touched.

"Of course I would." she laughed gently as she looked up at me with those azure eyes. "You're my hero Abbey."

I smiled softly, but then the image became kind of clouded. Ariana was becoming fuzzier and fuzzier. My throat felt as if it were choking up with tears as the image of her clouded up with my watering eyes. Why would she say something like that to me? I can't be her hero! I'm nothing compared to Albus! Why would she want me to be her hero?! I closed my eyes trying to control the tears.

I love you Ariana. You're the only reason I care about life right now. And the fact that you call me your hero makes me so happy and terrifies me at the exact same time. I love that I'm your favourite brother and best friend…but being your hero is something that terrifies me. I felt the tears leak out of my eyes and I quickly wiped them away before she could see them.

Trying to get my composure back, I opened my eyes ready to smile at her again, but instead to my ultimate shock and sadness, I saw the dark roof of my bedroom. I wiped my eyes still crying realizing that the whole thing was only a recollected dream.

Damn it! I thought annoyed as I got up from my dusty old bed and headed to my washroom to splash my face with some cold water. Damn you Albus! Damn you Gellert! Damn myself! Why must I dream about my poor dear sister?! Just to torture myself into thinking she is still alive?!

I headed into the washroom turned the tap to the coldest water possible. I splashed my eyes to stop the tears from coming out, but just heard myself sobbing for my long dead sister.

I still can't believe she's gone…she was my best friend.

I shook my head and looked up in the mirror. Unlike in my dream, my reflection showed a miserable old man with a straggly beard and puffy eyes. Wrinkling everywhere looking as grey as ever.

I shook my head at myself, "It was such a long time ago…you shouldn't still be this traumatized." I talked to my reflection. "Why do you still miss her like it was only yesterday she - she -" my eyes watered again…"Died."

I covered my eyes and just cried a little longer until I could finally get a hold of myself. I didn't want to go to work and have people see me in such a state. They're supposed to be afraid of me. Not pitying me.

I sighed looking at my reflection one more time and stared at myself for a minute. You can handle yourself. Ariana is gone, but she is still with you in your heart and you know she's watching over you. She'll always be there for you like you were for her…you need to be strong. You're her hero. You don't want her to see you in such a state.

I nodded as I made myself feel better with these simple words that I cherished with all my heart. You're her hero Aberforth. You live up to those words.

With that, I turned away from the mirror and went downstairs to get ready for work and get the bar up and running just in case a customer decides to show up today. With a deep sigh, (like every morning) I put on my happy face as I walked into the kitchen and saw the big portrait of my beautiful sister. She grinned just as she did in the dream as she saw me enter the kitchen, "Good morning Abbey!"

"Good morning Little Miss." I smiled with that sentence breaking my heart a bit. "Any adventures happen while I was sleeping?"

"No." she sighed. "But I was thinking about the goats again.""Were you?" I smiled at her.

"Mmhmm." she nodded through the painting. "I miss going to see the goats. Well, at least I have Kipper." she looked over in the distance and I smiled as the goat I had specifically painted in the picture for her galloped over and came to her side like a dog. She patted its head and chuckled, "We'll go on adventures, right Kipper?"

The sheep baaed at her enthusiastically and I nodded feeling my heartbreak once again. They literally can go on adventures in the picture frames…but it's not actually Ariana and her Kipper. It's a piece of her, but it's not her. This part made me feel the worst.

We could have left Airy. We could have gone on adventures together with Kipper and never looked back. We could have left home right then and there. You could still be alive right now and happy with the many memories of our adventures with Kipper the goat. We could have been happy. We could have been a family…but now you're gone and I'm here without you my Dear Sister. And honestly, I don't think I could go on an adventure without you. I wouldn't have the guts to go without you…because you're _my _hero.

"Yes, you will go on adventures Airy." I nodded with a fresh tear falling down my nose because I knew this sentence wasn't true. "You will."


	4. Abraxas Malfoy Destroyers and Protectors

Abraxas Malfoy

It's happening. I knew it would. It happened to me. It happened with my father, my grandfather and truly all my descendants. Now it is happening with my son. I never thought it would happen, because my wife and I shielded him from it so well…but here it is, happening yet again.

I honestly don't know why we Malfoys must go through this rough transition. My father always told me, "Just as it did with you, this will happen to your son and you must continue to shield him from it as best as you can. Don't allow him to make an opinion on the matter. You must say that this behaviour is absolutely disgraceful and it's bad for our family."

I remember my father going through multiple ways of telling me that this behaviour was bad and now, with adulthood on my shoulders, I agree with what he said. This behaviour really is disgraceful if you know all the facts. Of course I didn't understand it at first, but it makes sense to me now…with age, Lucius will understand too.

I watched my son through the ugly window of the apartment I was staying at for the time being. I have so much business to attend to at the ministry nowadays, there's really no point in me going home. Though I do miss my wife, it's nice to have Lucius here with me for a few days.

He'll stop in a few minutes, I told myself. Just get back to work. With that I did, but felt edgy as I did so. I could feel a pressure in my chest forming as I thought of my son doing such a disgraceful thing. _He's not doing it still_ _Abraxas! Concentrate on work! _I reluctantly listened to myself and watched my quill write a few words, but still not being able to concentrate. Damn your attention span Abraxas Malfoy! I looked out the window to see if my son was still doing that atrocious action and he was.

"Merlin's beard!" I shouted annoyed and wanted to open the window and tell him to stop before anyone saw what he was doing. Not wanting to embarrass him though, I opened the window slowly and called out sweetly, "Lucius! Come inside now! Lunch is ready!"

He looked up at me with his white blonde hair slicked back the same way my own used to be at his age. He smirked up at me with those steel grey eyes and nodded, "Okay Father! But can Arthur and Cecilia join us?" he referred to those problems and my heart rate picked up as my infuriation stewed in my chest.

I knew one of those children. I knew the one rather well. Not on a personal level of course! But I knew _of him_ rather well! The boy was Arthur Weasley, son of that appalling blood traitor Septimus Weasley. I could tell by that fiery red hair, the freckled vacant expression and the hand-me-down robes that he was a Weasley.

My throat burned with the bile that was in the back of my throat. I felt the anger in my system growing. Not _only_ was my son talking to a blood traitor, but a muggle also. I could tell she was a muggle just by the composure of her. She was so small compared to my wonderful son and that ugly blood traitor. We should rule over her people and have them as our slaves. We could _easily_ overrule them if we tried…but apparently we can't according to that awful Mudblood Minister.

I rolled my eyes, thinking about the Minister. Soon enough, the people will realize how stupid they were to elect him and bring him down, but anyways, back to my son. I realized I hadn't answered his question yet and just smiled at him gently. "Come in for a minute son. Let's talk."

"Um sure." he shrugged with his hair shining brilliantly in the sunlight. I saw him turn to his awful company and say that he'd come back in a minute. As he came to the door, I literally ran downstairs and prepared my speech. The speech that my father got from my grandfather, the speech that I got when I was a boy…the speech that would teach my son that these people are wrong for this world.

I got to the bottom of the stairs and looked at the grey door waiting for my son to enter. It would take him a minute to come in because of this damn apartment style like building. I sighed softly and waited while trying to remember what my father had told me.

It's odd…you'd think I'd remember every word of why these people are so bad…but I don't. You'd think I'd have it memorized because of the hatred I feel towards them…but I don't. I just _know_ they're despicable. I know they don't belong in our world. I know they don't deserve to be in our purely magical presence. We are too important to be contaminated by these ugly blotches in the human race. We pureblood wizards are too important to be associated with these people…

My son must be taught this for his own good…just like I was.

Interrupting my thoughts the door clicked and creaked open to reveal my beautiful son. He smiled at me like I did at my father the first time he had this conversation with me. So innocently naïve to what those people are capable of. As he approached me he grinned, "What is it father?"

"My boy," I touched the top of his head and knelt down so we could be face to face. I had to play a little dumb here…I remember my father doing that with me to begin the discussion…but after that, I go blank, "Who were you talking to down there?"

"A boy named Arthur Weasley and a girl named Cecilia Jones. May they come up for lunch? They seem quite friendly."

Damn…it's improvisation time. I sighed softly and began in hush tones to keep the conversation itself calm, "My son," I shook my head as his referral to them as _friendly_. "They are not friendly."

"But they seemed nice." he looked confused. His steel coloured eyes flickered with perplexity as I said these simple words. "They gave me some candy."

My eyes widened in infuriation that he would let them give him something and eat it so willingly. Although I was angry, I just pushed a reluctant grin to my face, "Really? Well, you shouldn't take candy from people you don't know. It could be poisonous."

"What do you mean Father?" he said anxiously.

"It could hurt you." I said softly. "And we wouldn't want that Lucius."

"But what does that have to do with my friends?"

"They are _not_ your friends." I said more suddenly than I would have liked. "They are awful human beings! They aren't even human! They are tarnishes! They will destroy our family!"

Lucius looked taken aback as I said these things to him, "Father? What do you mean? They are just like us! They are friendly human beings."

"No son," I tried to calm my tone and turn it into a hush whisper. "They are not."

"They look like us."

"They may," I said reluctantly. "But they are not like us on the inside son." I touched his chest. "They are a lot different on the inside."

"How Father?" it seemed that I finally had his attention.

I decided to go the truthful route. To say how I felt about these people and what kind of people my father deemed them to be…like I do now. I looked into his eyes and tried to find understanding as I spoke the words that I felt needed to be said. "Lucius," I whispered. "These people are different. They are tainted. You know how we have magic?"

He nodded at me.

"Well these people don't know how to use it properly. That little girl doesn't even know about it. What do you think she'd do if she found out about magic?"

"She'd like it." he shrugged.

"No," I said harshly still in my hushed voice. It came out more raspy than anything. "She would flee from you. She would call you a mutant to know you're magic."

"But is she not magic like me father?" he looked up at me confused.

"No son." I touched his shoulder realizing that he was understanding what I was saying. "She is not. She is what you would call a muggle. Muggles are not like us. They are greedy, hungry beasts that look like us, but are absolutely atrocious versions. They are the evil doppelgangers of wizard's son. Do you know what that means?"

He shook his head and looked down as I continued, "If she knew that we were magic, she would destroy us. Muggles don't like things that they cannot explain son. We are prime examples of things they cannot explain."

"Why can't they explain us father?"

"Because son. It's like explaining what air is…magic is there, because it's there. There is no explanation."

"But why can't she have magic like us?"

"It is because we are better than them." I squeezed his shoulder. "God made us and the muggles were the defects. They are incapable of magic son. And you know what?"

"What?" he looked up at me again.

"If they knew _we_ had magic, they would try and control it. They would try and steal it from us."

"They would?"

I nodded because I knew this to be true, "As I said before son…muggles hate having something that they cannot explain. They either try to understand it or if it is too hard to understand…they get rid of it. They would try and get rid of magic altogether."

"They would?" he looked up worried.

"They would." I confirmed. "They would get rid of all that we know to be good. They would kill us all off because they don't understand us. _They_ would think of _us_ to be imperfections on their species. They would call _us_ mutants and throw us in the trash to die."

"They would father?" he looked up at me worried. I think the idea of all this scared him. He was only six and I must admit, I thought I would be having this conversation with him years from now, but here we are today…

I didn't like scaring him, but I had to tell him the truth. He must know the capabilities of these creatures. He must hate them the way I do if he wants to be a true Malfoy. Answering his question, I nodded, "Yes son. They would."

He looked fearful, "They would try to kill us? Murder us because we are different?"

"Yes son." I nodded painfully; I hated seeing him afraid so I had to give him reassurance. "But you know what?"

"What?" he looked up at me searching for that comfort. Hoping that there would be something good to come out of this conversation.

I smiled softly at him and squeezed his shoulder again, "You don't need to fear them. _They_ need to fear us." He looked at me confused and I smiled at him reassuringly, "They don't understand the powers that we are capable of son. They'd think that we're pushovers, but we certainly are not. We are powerful son. Wizards need to stick together and keep that power strong. We must keep our race pure to keep us alive Lucius."

He looked a little better, but then frowned again, "But what about Arthur?"

"Arthur," I started getting ready to explain the Weasleys betrayal to our race. "Deceived us. Deceived our race son. His family _associate_ with these muggles! In fact, they would stand with them against us!"

Lucius looked concerned, "Arthur would help the muggles destroy us father?"

"Not only Arthur son, but _all people_ who like muggles! You must not associate with them because they will in the end destroy you! The Weasleys are stupid to think that they are safe, but they are not! And they will end up dirtying our blood lines with muggle imperfections at this rate!"

"Wizards would marry muggles?" he said almost disgusted, which I absolutely loved.

"Yes son! These are the traitors that you must avoid! The traitors that you must punish! Don't ever allow them in because they will tarnish our magic! We must cherish this gift we have and muggles will wreck it!"

"I don't want that to happen Father."

"Then tell those filthy people to leave!" I gestured to the door. "You deserve better Lucius. You deserve magic. Those people do _not_. You will create magic, but they will _destroy _it."

He nodded and got an annoyed look on his face as he looked at the door, "I will Father. I'll tell them to go right now."

"Good boy!" I patted his head excitedly. Oddly, talking about my hatred of muggles and blood traitors always did enthuse me…

He nodded his head determined and headed out the door to tell that Weasley boy and that muggle girl to leave him and (in a sense) our magic alone. He now knows that we deserve better than them. Blood traitors and muggles are the killers of our magical abilities. He can now see that we must protect magic from things like them. They are the destroyers of magic, Purebloods are the protectors.


	5. Adrian Pucey The Right Kind of Slytherin

Adrian Pucey

"Alright," Trish grinned at me slamming her copy of Quidditch Through the Ages shut and putting it in her bag so she couldn't see it. "Test me!"

"Test you?" I laughed surprised at her abrupt nature. "On Quidditch?"

"Yes!" she nodded determinedly. "I've been studying all summer for you! I want to actually know what you're doing out on the field when you're playing this year!"

I just chuckled at her. She's such a ridiculous girl, but that's why I love her. She can literally turn anything into something she can study and teach herself about. Well, I guess that's why she's in Ravenclaw!

I chuckled to myself and looked up into her perfect icy blue eyes. They were swimming with anticipation, waiting for what I was about to say. I couldn't help but smirk at her playfully, "You really want me to test you Trish?"

"Yes!" she nodded determinedly. "If I can pass your test on Quidditch, then I _know_ I understand it!"

I shook my head at her and just laughed gently at her adorableness. I know I'm obsessed with Quidditch. There's no doubt about that. Everyone who knows me recognizes that simple little fact. It's an important part of my life, and the fact that Trish is trying to get to know it for me is about the sweetest thing ever.

"Alright," I said turning myself towards her. We were sitting in the courtyard taking advantage of such a gorgeous day. The sun was out, the flowers were in bloom, the birds were chirping their songs of choice and I thought it would be a good idea to get some sun. She usually just stays inside the castle all day studying for tests weeks in advance, but she needs to get a little colour in her skin. People in my house always mock her due to how frail she looks, but really, she's the strongest person I know. She deserves to be treated right and I'll shield her from those stupid insults as best as I can.

I chuckled at the determined look on her sweet little face. She was ready for whatever kind of questions I'd throw at her and I _know_ without even asking that she's going to get every question right. Because when she says she's ready for a test, you just know she's ready.

Gently, I reached over to her face and caressed her cheek affectionately as I thought of a question to ask her. She leant into my hand and giggled softly as she took it off of her face, "Stop it. You're distracting me Adrian!"

"Sorry," I chuckled honestly. "I'm thinking of some toughies for you to answer."

"I'm ready." she crossed her arms reliably and grinned.

"Alright," I tried to think of something, but came up with nothing on the spot other than easy questions. "Okay," I said thinking this game through. "We'll start easy. Then build it up. Alright?"

She nodded and waited for my question with cheerful eyes. She was always happy when taking tests for some reason. Even though I don't understand it, I liked seeing her cheerful and being able to feel the happiness radiate off of her.

"Okay," I started simply. "How many people are on the field at once? Name their positions and what they are responsible for."

"Okay," she thought as she looked up. It was almost as if she were searching for the knowledge in her head. "There are seven players on a team, but on the field there would be fourteen players at once…unless you're counting the referee, then it would be fifteen people. There are two Beaters, who are responsible for the bludgers. They keep the bludgers away from their team and hit them towards the opposing team. Then there is the Seeker, who is responsible for the Golden Snitch. He or she is awarded one hundred and fifty points once the snitch is caught and this _usually_ means that he or she will win the game for their team. On the rare occasion though, a team catches the snitch and doesn't win the game. Next, there is the Keeper who is responsible for guarding the three goal posts and then there are the three Chasers, who're responsible for the quaffle. The Chasers must toss the quaffle into one of the three opposing team's goal posts."

I chuckled surprised by all the information she just threw at me. I wasn't expecting an answer _that_ specific…but I guess that goes to show you the differences between our houses…I'm a Slytherin, whereas she's a Ravenclaw. We both take school seriously in different ways.

When she was done telling me her answer, she looked back into my eyes and smiled knowing she did a good job on the answer, "Was that good?"

"It was excellent Darling." I smirked at her. "But now, let's get a little harder. How about we start -"

"_Adrian_!" someone called for me interrupting what I was about to say. Both Trish and I turned our heads to see my best friend Terence Higgs running up towards us. I was about to smile at him and wave him over, but he seemed like he wasn't in the mood for a smile. He looked frustrated beyond belief and almost on the verge of angered tears. "You're not going to _believe_ this!" he said annoyed as he approached us.

"What?" I looked up at him concerned.

"I didn't make Seeker this year!" he said angry.

"What?!" I looked at him surprised and Trish looked very saddened that he didn't get the position. How could he not get Seeker? We've been playing Quidditch together since the beginning. We both joined the same year and have been inseparable ever since. He's my best friend and now that he didn't make the team, it disheartens me a bit about Quidditch this year. I mean, who could beat him out of his position…Ask him that damn it! Don't keep the thought inside your head!

I did as my mind instructed, "Woah, hold on a second! Who beat you out?! No one in Slytherin is faster than you on a broom!"

"That's the worst part!" he said angrier than ever as he pulled up a seat so he could sit near us. You could tell he was miserable just by the way he was sitting. His shoulders were slouched and his brow was so furrowed you couldn't even see his eyes. "You know that little Second Year shit Draco Malfoy?"

Fuck. Damn it. _No_! There's no _god damn _way. I felt my shoulders tensing up with the anger shaping itself in my chest. There's no way I'm playing with that piece of shit. That Malfoy kid is one of those awful people who would just cheat to win if he could! That's not what I want for our Quidditch team! That's _not_ Quidditch in my mind! Quidditch is _integrity_! Quidditch is _determination_! Quidditch is _**life**_! And if you cheat at life, you'll never win.

Plus, I just hate that little git in general. He made Trish cry with some of the awful things he called her. I felt bile forming in the back of my throat just thinking about it. I think the reason he did it was because he _knew_ she wouldn't fight back. She doesn't have that kind of personality. Trish would take the insults and lick her wounds in private rather than defend herself.

Malfoy was even brave enough to call her a Mudblood in front of me once. I remember feeling that fury boil in my chest instantaneously as I heard that awful word. And when it was directed at her, I wanted to kill him. "Oh my goodness!" Trish looked as infuriated as her dainty little figure would allow her to. "_He_ beat you out? How?! I bet he can't even fly!"

"No," Terence looked at the ground as if there were a squished bug stuck in gum underneath his shoe. "He can fly…but that's not the reason I got sacked from the position."

"Then what happened mate?" I said wanting to hear exactly why that shit Malfoy replaced my best friend.

"He bought me out." he said shakily as if this sentence alone made him want to bawl. He held back the tears though for Trish, knowing that it would upset her to see him cry. It would upset me too to be honest, but this sentence confused me also.

"How mate?" I looked at him confused. "How could Malfoy buy you out?"

"His _Daddy_ bought the whole team new Nimbus 2001s Adrian! He literally bribed them to make him play!"

"I can't see Snape going for that." I said not believing what I was hearing.

"He doesn't have to." he said bitterly. "It's Flint's decision, since he's the Captain."

"_What_?!" I said angry. "We need to go talk to Flint! We don't need Nimbus 2001s to win! Sure it'd be cool to have new gear, but we don't need that stuff! We kick ass without that stuff! We need you to win Terence! You're our only chance of kicking Wood's ass with Potter on his side!"

"Yeah, but that's the thing." Terence moped. "Flint thinks with Draco, you guys can beat Wood this year."

"It was only a fluke that the Potter kid practically swallowed the snitch." I said with a shrug. "You practically had the snitch man. He just flipped onto it and bam…he had it in his mouth somehow…it was a fluke."

"Well, you're going to have to talk with Flint because it's official. You guys are playing Gryffindor in November with your new Seeker Draco Malfoy."

"I don't think so." I stated flatly. If I have any say in this, there's no way that git is going to be playing with us in November. Quidditch has standards in my mind and he doesn't make the cut at all. In fact, if I were the team captain, I would remake the Slytherin team. Heck, if I had the power, I would change the way people see us Slytherins!

We are seen as the blood purists that exhibit cunning and brutal ways of getting into power. People see us as the bad house to be in…well other than Hufflepuff…but really! We are seen as the manipulative house that will do absolutely anything (no matter the stakes) to get into power. It doesn't matter who we hurt. Power is what we want, and we'll do anything to get it. People look over Slytherins good qualities because we are so traditionally covered by the bad.

We are ambitious, clever and good people…well sometimes. Draco Malfoy and his crew are certainly not good examples of the good that can come out of the Slytherin house. Sure, I understand that a lot of today's bad wizards came from my house, but a lot of good wizards have too. And I promise to myself, my friends and my family that I will try to do my best to show that the Slytherin house is better than Draco Malfoy. It's _a hell_ of a lot better than that blood purist git.

I, myself, am a half blood. And if I had the choice of being either a pureblood like Draco Malfoy or a muggleborn like my perfect Trish, there's no doubt in my mind of which I'd pick. Because that's the kind of Slytherin I am. I'm the right kind of Slytherin.


	6. Alastor Moody, Scars

Alastor Moody

"So you say you can read a person's life story just by how many scars they have?" the young shape shifter girl looked actually interested in what I was saying. Most people would look at me as if I were the mad man I am and wouldn't take what I say seriously. What I'm saying is true though. Most people just don't have the patience or the will to hear what I'm saying because most of them don't have the kind of scars us aurors have

Getting the conversation back on track, I nodded at the young purple haired girl to answer her question, "By how many scars a person has, it tells the reader that he or she has had the fullest life possible. They've lived life on the edge and not hidden away in a house their entire sad little life. They've suffered and survived through treacherous pain and also the rehabilitation back to happiness. Back to normality…but that isn't the case with some scars."

It was odd. Usually a person would turn away from me by this point, ignoring what I said in the first place. But not she. Her dark twinkling eyes looked rather interested in what I was saying. She seemed confused that I'd stopped my rant. "What kinds of scars don't allow you to come back to normality Mad Eye?" she asked wanting the discussion to continue.

I felt my eye swirling around in its socket looking for someone that was watching us. Was this some kind of joke? Was someone paying her to make a fool of me? I rolled my one eye at myself as the other kept on looking. Constant vigilance Alastor, but calm yourself. No need to get into a fit.

The girl waited for me to continue with attentive eyes. So I did, "Some scars are just far too deep to be rehabilitated." I said with a growl.

She didn't look off put by my change in temperament. She actually contributed to the conversation, "Like emotional ones?"

Surprised by this answer because it was precisely correct, I cleared my throat, "Exactly."

She nodded, but then got a funny look in her eyes as she fumbled with her wand absentmindedly. Out of bad habit, I placed my hand on my wand in case she turned on me and decided to hex the daylights out of me. Again, I rolled my eyes. Constant vigilance, but she's an auror. A new one at that. She's not going to hex you.

Interrupting my thoughts, she looked at me curiously, "Do your scars tell a story Mad Eye?"

"I'm sorry?" I growled.

"Do they tell a story?"

She was actually asking me that? I felt confusion take my face for a second, but I pushed it away with the thought of 'constant vigilance' swimming through my mind. I scowled turning away from her, "Not a story worth telling." I stated harshly.

"I would like to hear it." she smiled kindly.

Startlingly, her smile kind of broke my heart a little bit because it reminded me of -…no Alastor. Don't. Not at work. There's no sense. Constant vigilance for god's sakes!

Trying at an attempt to end the conversation I fumbled with some papers on my desk, "Now's not the time."

"I have plenty of time." she smiled again.

Alright girl, you're leading to my last resort to make you leave. Do you really want to see me take out my eye just so you'll leave? Really? Is this what this has come to? "I have to clean my eye." I stated callously and got my cleaning kit out of my desk.

She shrugged, "I don't care. Clean it all you want, but I want to get to know you. We're going to be working together and I barely know anything about you."

Damn…she's as stubborn as - _No Alastor_! No thinking about that at work! I ignored her statement and loosened the sprockets to my magic eye getting ready to pop it out so she'd leave.

"Fine," she crossed her arms. "I'll respect your privacy and won't ask you questions about your past. Deal? I'll ask you simple things. Like for example, where did you get your eye from?"

"That's hardly a simple question." I snarled harshly.

"I think it's rather simple." she shrugged.

"Well it's not. So shut your yap and let me clean my eye." and with that I popped it out of my socket. I was expecting disgust to come out of her. Yelling girly things like, "Ew!" or "Disgusting!" but she didn't make a sound. Nor did her facial expression change. She stayed still like a statue.

I rolled my one eye and began cleaning it. The way I was taught to do so…by you. I smirked softly to myself. How I actually got my eye is something I haven't dwelled upon in a long time…mostly because it has to deal with you.

You're a scar in my life. A painful one that I know will never ever fade until I can get to you and our little one again…you have no idea how much I miss you.

Feeling my lip quiver, I shook the feeling off. Constant vigilance Alastor. Don't let that shape shifter person see you like that. I don't want her to suspect anything or ask any more questions about my past. It'll just lead up to more questions of you…because you were my entire life before I was an auror.

I couldn't help myself. I've forced myself not to think of you for so long, it's so hard not to indulge myself now. I remember your perfect smile and pure eyes. Your eyes were such a deep green; a pine forest could have literally been growing in the middle of your iris. Your dainty little nose that I always poke tenderly. Your beautiful cherry red lips that always smiled at me in the most perfect way. Just you. With your auburn hair down to your waist…I gotta wonder, if you were still here with me would it still be that long?

I chuckled to myself remembering when you finally figured out how to make my new eye. I remember coming home to you with one eye missing and having you cry because you knew I was in such pain. It was then you made it your mission to make me a new eye for me. To help me with my auror missions against the dark lord at the time.

You were already paranoid about me whenever I was away from home. You would have been even more worried if I didn't have my senses perfectly in check. With one eye missing, you thought that could kill me if I wasn't careful.

I remember you in such excitement as you finally finished the magic eye that I still wear today. The most powerful eye replacement in the world and my most prized possession. Because it was made by you and your hands. You put your blood, sweat and tears to make sure that I was safe, when I should have been doing the same with you and our little one on the way.

I remember having to leave the day after the next once my eye was finished. You wouldn't allow it any other way. I had to have all my senses in check before I left, so I'd be safe…it absolutely kills me to know that you weren't safe the way I was my Darling. You and our little one should be here still. I should be the one gone. You didn't deserve what happened to you.

I felt my lips quiver again, but I just let my mind continue thinking about you. It was the first time in ages since I let myself think about you and I wasn't going to stop there.

I remember looking into your hopeful emerald eyes kissing you goodbye for now, when really it was goodbye forever. I kissed you and your stomach feeling our little one kick away also saying goodbye to me. "Daddy'll be back soon." you reassure our little one as you touched your stomach affectionately.

"That's right." I said to both you and our little one at once. "I'll be back soon."

You looked on the verge of tears, but as always, held them back for me. I remember you stroking my face and kissing me gently goodbye, "I love you Alastor."

"You know I love you too." I chuckled light-heartedly as I caressed your face. "I'll be back. You know I will be."

"I know." you nod wiping your eyes quickly before the tears fell. You look up into my eye and touch the new magical one you made for me. "Don't hurt yourself again. Please Alastor. We need you." you referred to yourself and the little one in your tummy by touching your stomach tenderly.

"I won't." I stroked your sweet worried face and kissed it again. "I'll be back soon my Love. This'll be over soon. I promise."

You nod softly and kiss me once more before the other aurors pull me away from you so that we could get going. You kiss me deeply and whisper, "Constant vigilance." against my lips making me smile before they pull me away from you and our little one.

I'd always found that phrase odd in a way. How could I always be watchful my Dear? It just didn't make sense to me at the time…but when I got home from the war to find out that both you and our little one were killed by some of Voldemort's followers it nearly destroyed me.

You have no idea how many times I tried to get to you. How many times I tried to commit the ultimate sin of suicide to get to you and our little one…but I never had the stomach to do so. It drove me mad.

Constant vigilance is just something I live by now. The phrase protected me when it should have been protecting you and our little one…you have no idea how much I miss you my Love. How much I think we could of made good parents…but I guess that's why I'm such a good auror today…it's because I avenge you and our little one.

Darling, I don't even need to tell you that I'd much rather have you and our little one rather than have this talent. You're _why _I'm an auror. You're why I protect people from these dark wizards. It's because I don't want what happened to us to happen to someone else. So while I wait to join you up there in heaven with our little one, I'll protect other witches and wizards from suffering our fate. I'll protect them from suffering through the same scars we have Love.

"Mad Eye?" I looked up realizing that the shape shifter was still here. She approached my desk looking worried, "Are you alright Mad Eye?"

I hadn't realized that my one eye was leaking. Shit. Constant vigilance Alastor!

I quickly wiped the tears away and popped my eye back in its socket. "Of course I am." I lied gruffly as I stood up getting ready to leave and go home to think about you more and just let the tears out.

"Are you sure Mad Eye?" she looked at me worried, she's as stubborn as you were.

"Yeah." I stated grumpily as I grabbed my walking stick. Then I realized I never got her name. "What's your name Lass?"

She looked surprised by this question, but answered, "Tonks."

"Weird name." I stated mostly to myself, but said goodbye to her anyway. She had budding talent in her if she could stand up to me like you would. Anyone that could stand up to me like you, had to have potential in them to be a good auror.

"Constant vigilance Tonks." I stated to her, giving her your blessing of safety.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she cocked her eyebrow at me, but I limped away before she could ask any further questions about me, or you, or our scar filled lives.


	7. Albus Dumbledore, Angels and Demons

Albus Dumbledore

Regular wizards see me as a hero. A role model, a saviour, a genius. A person that'll do anything to protect the people I care for. Regular wizards see me as caring, kind, wise, powerful and some may even see me as an oddball (which I can't disagree with). But simply, wizards see me as someone they can rely on.

Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.

I sighed realizing what this had to come to. Snape would have to kill me to gain Voldemorts trust. It was the only way to make all these plans for Harry to coincide. Yes, it's the wise choice…but it's not a choice that I like.

Though I am very confident in Harry Potter's abilities, I'm just not ready to leave this earth yet. I understand that may seem selfish seeing that I am one hundred and fifteen years old. Some people may see it in the way saying, "Oh Albus…you've lived long enough. It's time for a new generation to approach the world without anymore magical guidance." And yes, I understand that, but it is not why I wish to stay.

I wish to stay here for multiple reasons and all of them are more personal motives. Yes, I wish to see Voldemorts demise, but I know Harry Potter can handle that without my further guidance. No, I wish to live more so to solve my own problems.

Again, I know that seems selfish, but I don't mean it to. One reason I wish to continue my existence would be to see Grindelwald again. Not for the reasons you'd think though. I'd honestly wish to see if he had any remorse for what he had done. To see if the many years in Nurmengard finally made him the man I thought he was originally before the incident occurred…though thinking about it now, he probably hasn't changed a bit.

He probably still hates me like I do him. He's probably the only person in the world that I truly hate with a passion that brews within the deepest veins of my heart. Of course I hate Voldemort, but I saw him grow into the monster he is today. I can empathize with the young Tom Riddle and see why he is the terror that he is today. Whereas with Grindelwald, he already had a monster infusing inside him. I never got to see his evil develop. I can't sympathize with him due to the fact that I cannot determine where his iniquity came from…second of all, he made me evil too.

He made me lose sight of what was really important in this world. He fogged up my judgement by his good looks and charming smile. I couldn't think straight. I _wouldn't_ think straight. For nights on end, I would stay up late at night just thinking about his piercing cerulean eyes and lightning like smile. It would send shivers down my spine when he looked at me. But no matter his charm, he was evil and still probably is.

I sighed just giving into myself; okay…maybe I'd want to see him to see if he'd finally reciprocate those feelings at last. I wouldn't act upon those feelings of course, but I'd like to know if they were ever there.

That would be my first mission before my death if I could go on it. Second would be to finally make it up to my younger and distressed brother Aberforth.

Oh Aberforth, I looked down thinking about what had happened between us and started pacing. I know you think I don't care for you. That I never did care for you and I would have left you and our family in a second, but that isn't true. You and I are the only true family we have left Aberforth. We should be together right now and fighting off this evil Voldemort for the sake of mankind. We used to make a good team you and I. But now…we can't even look at each other…well, _you_ can't look at _me_.

You're just over at Hogs Head and here I am at Hogwarts. I guess that shows the paths we took. Here I am, in a castle, teaching the next generation of wizards and there you are in a lowdown pub. It just doesn't seem fair to you. Especially since you're the one who truly deserves to live in a castle after all that you've been through. I deserve the lowdown after what I did to you and our sweetest sister.

You thought I didn't care for her Aberforth. But to this day, I can't even say our sister's sweet name without crying. _Still_. And it's been what? Around a hundred years since that incident. That excruciatingly painful incident…

You'd think I'd be able to at least grasp the fact that our sister is dead, but no. I still can't even comprehend that she's gone. It still feels like I could just call for her and she'd come running into the room almost scolding me like mother would, "Albie, where have you been all day?!"

I smile thinking about you and her in the goat corral. You two always spent so much time there and I never understood the appeal. It smelt, it was dirty, it was muddy, the weather was always pitiful and all the goats in general seemed thicker than a log, but you two spent practically all your time there. I didn't understand it.

But I remember watching you two while Grindelwald and I planned in a secret hideout. You were always smiling and laughing with each other. As if you didn't have a care in the world. Sometimes I wished to join you, but I didn't want Grindelwald to think bitter of me.

It seems ridiculous in a way.

There I was, sitting with the handsomest man there ever was, with his charming personality, a dimpled chin, pearly whites and vortex like sapphire eyes…and I was thinking about what _you two_ were doing. I would of thought that'd be heaven for me…but no, I wanted to be with you two and see what was so fun about that damn goat enclosure.

I smiled to myself thinking about my sister's grin as you showed her how to feed a goat for the first time. She looked so enchanted by the little goat that she named…what was it? Fishy? Oyster? No…that wasn't it. But anyways, she looked so happy. A happy that I'd never seen from her with anyone else but you Aberforth.

You don't need to tell me that you were her favourite. Believe me. I know. Everyone knew and there was no point in telling me. The way she looked at you painted a picture for me. She looked at you the way people look at me now.

She looked up at you as a role model, a protective older brother, a person who'll stick up for her and that she can rely on, a friend…no, a _best _friend, but the thing that killed me the most is that she looked up at you like you were her hero.

People today see me as a hero, but I'm not. In my eyes, I'm hardly a hero. That isn't modesty speaking either.

In my eyes, I'm a demon compared to you Aberforth. I know that you were always jealous of every achievement I made, but to be honest…I was and still am jealous of you.

Every person on this earth could see me as their saviour. Every person on this earth could bow down to me. Every person on this earth could look up to me and call me their hero…and I'd _still_ be jealous of you. And honestly, I wish I could say this to you, but I know I never will now.

I wish we could switch places, because you got the one thing I ever wanted and ever will want.

For Airy to look at me like I was her hero.

You can have all the trophies Aberforth. You can have all the awards and titles and castles and "adoring fans" and responsibilities. But let me have one simple little thing…let me be Airy's hero.

The funny thing is though; I don't think you'd give it up. Actually, I _know you wouldn't give it up…There's another difference between you and me Aberforth…_

_I sighed thinking again as I sat down at my desk. It's true. In the public eye, I'm an angel sent from above to stop the evil from happening. Whereas with my family, I'm the demon that allowed the evil to occur. _

_I wanted to let the tears fall from my eyes, but I wouldn't allow that to happen. I miss you my siblings. I wish we could have made it together. We should have been a team rather than Grindelwald and I. We could have made a plan to help the wizarding world rather than destroy it…you guys would have made me an angel rather than a demon…_

_But forevermore I shall remain a demon in your eyes…because that's the difference between Aberforth and I. He's the hero, and I'm the demon he has to fight away._


	8. Albus Severus Potter, Family

*Note

Sorry it's so late everyone! I've been _crazy _busy with school work and actual work recently! Now I _finally_ have time to write again! _Yes_! Anyways, sorry again for the crazy long wait! Anyway, enough wasting your time! You don't want to read this for goodness sakes! So here is…

Albus Severus Potter

Huh. I'm named after two headmasters of Hogwarts…no pressure there Mom and Dad. I felt my breath shake furiously against my lips as I realized we were getting close to our destination. Everyone was looking out the windows excitedly. I kept hearing, "I THINK I SEE THE CASTLE FROM HERE!" but then I'd feel my heart relax as I heard, "No stupid, that's just your imagination."

"Are you alright Al?" I looked at my red headed cousin already dressed in her school robes. "You seem worried."

I didn't like this accusation, "Yeah Rose I'm fine. Don't worry about me okay?"

"Oh." she looked down saddened, but looked back up a second later. "Alright. Do you want to help me finish my chocolate frog? We shouldn't be eating anything when we get there and I don't think I'll be able to finish on time."

I nodded. Maybe eating will calm my nerves a little. I thanked her profusely as I gobbled up the legs of the chocolate frog. "What house do you think you'll get in?" Rose smirked with a gentle laugh.

"I don't know." I shrugged not wanting to answer. "I hope Gryffindor."

"Me too." she nodded at me. "Well, both of our parents were in Gryffindor, so we should have a good chance."

"I could see you in Ravenclaw too." I thought. "You're really smart."

"Aw thanks Al." she chuckled.

"Where could you see me?" I asked curiously.

"Gryffindor of course Al!" she beamed with her red hair gleaming as the sun glimmered through the window. We were quiet for a minute then, just thinking about nothing really when she spoke again, "Why do you ask Al?" she questioned gently.

I was surprised by this query. Not only do I not want to tell her that I'm nervous about what house I'm going to be in, but I'm scared of going to Hogwarts in general. It's nerve-wracking and don't want my cousin to see me weak! I mean, come on! I'm the boy! I'm not supposed to be scared! I'm supposed to be excited like my brother was when he first went to Hogwarts, but _no_! I'm nervous! I'm terrified! Rose is the girl; shouldn't she be scared like I am?

"Al?" her brown eyes were concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Oh!" I nodded swiftly realizing I hadn't answered her question. "Of course Rose. Yeah…I'm fine."

"You seem nervous." she said gently and took my hand like a Lily would whenever she was worried about me. "It's alright to be nervous."

"No it's not." I sighed feeling my breath shake once again. "James said he wasn't nervous at all when he first came here. He was so excited."

"He was lying Al." she rolled her eyes in good humour. "You know your brother better than I do. He was just trying to act tough."

"Though that may be true, he still didn't seem nervous. If he was worried about going to Hogwarts, he knew how to hide it. He seemed so excited. I mean, why can't I be that excited Rose? You're obviously excited. You were already in your school robes at the platform."

She smiled with a small giggle, "I guess you're right. I am excited, but I'm a little nervous too. Remember Al, all of us first years are nervous in some way."

"You don't seem too nervous." I sighed glumly.

"Okay," she thought out loud, but then laughed. "Let's play therapist! Why are you nervous Al? What makes you nervous about coming to Hogwarts?"

"I don't know." I shrugged with a laugh trying to brush off the conversation.

"Are you worried about what house you're going to be put in?" she cocked her eyebrow. "It only makes sense. That's why you asked me that."

"Oh." I always forget how blooming smart Rose is. I couldn't hide my surprised reaction and I just gave into what she said.

"Maybe." I looked away from her brown eyed gaze piercing my brain to shreds with its smartness.

"But why Al?" she looked at me with a motherly smile. "Why are you nervous? You're going to be in Gryffindor for sure!"

"How do you know?" I looked up at her.

"Because I know you! You're one hundred percent Gryffindor material!"

"But I could also be in Slytherin…James said so."

She rolled her eyes again in frustration, "You seriously gotta stop listening to your stupid brother. He's just trying to freak you out you know. He's such a - a dink!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her terminology, "A dink?"

"Yes!" she nodded firmly as she laughed with me. "He is! He just thinks he's being funny when half of the time he's just being stupid. Don't listen to him Al! You're much smarter than he is! That's why you're my favourite cousin."

I laughed, "Thanks Rose. You're my favourite too…but do you really think I'm going to be in Gryffindor with you?"

"Of course you are Albus." she chuckled. "And even if you _somehow get into Slytherin, I will always come and sit with you if you want me to."_

"_Really?" I grinned._

"_Well," she chuckled. "If you come sit with me if I get into Ravenclaw…"_

"_Of course!" I laughed. "We're family Rose. And if you do get into Ravenclaw, they will have gained an amazing member!"_

"_Slytherin will have too." she smiled happily. "You know, if you for some reason do get into Slytherin."_

_I smiled feeling a little more reassured. My family won't hate me if I get into Slytherin? That's such a load off my shoulders for some reason…I don't even know why. But what I do know is Rose and I'll stick up for each other no matter the circumstances. Whether I'm a Slytherin or a Gryffindor, I'll always stick up for my family, and that's a promise._

_And with that, we heard a loud screech outside meaning that the train was now finally coming to a halt. Our new adventure at Hogwarts was about to begin._


	9. Alecto Carrow, Parent

Alecto Carrow

"Amycus," I whispered softly trying to get his attention and see if he were still awake. "Are you awake Amycus?" I gently nudged him and he groaned unhappily into his pillow.

"What are you doing out of bed Alecto?" he sighed annoyed as he forced his eyes open.

The sentence that made me want to cry in fear was spit from my lips, "Mama is gone." I whispered afraid. "She's not in her room."

"What do you mean?" he looked worried all the sudden. "Did you check the house?"

"Mmhmm." I nodded hurriedly in dread. "I don't know where she is."

He got up then and took my hand reassuringly, "She's probably just gone to get something Alecto."

"Are you sure?" I whispered again hugging onto my older brother nervously.

"Positive." he nodded. "But let's go and check again just to be sure. I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

And off we went down the dark stairwell. Everything was so scary in the dark. I didn't know what to make of it. I shivered feeling like I was walking through a giant spider web. Amycus rubbed my back supportively as we continued the descent down the murky stairwell.

"Why is everything so scary at night?" I whispered softly. "Why does our home look like a scary movie when darkness comes?"

"Don't be afraid Alect." he picked me up and pulled me onto his back for a piggyback ride. "We'll find Mum. I'm sure she's around here."

We were silent as we finished our descent down the gloomy staircase. I made my eyes focus in the dimness as I tried to look for Mama again. Unfortunately, they weren't providing any clarity for me to make sense of anything.

"Mum?" Amycus called softly. "Are you here?"

It felt oddly silent. Almost too silent. A deadly silent that brought not only chills, but spasms to my spine. I huddled into Amycus' neck and groaned as the nervous feeling began to overtake my heart rate. He gently shhed me, "It's alright. She's around here somewhere Alect."

"But where?" I cried softly. "I want Mama."

"Don't fear Sweetheart." he said with slight heartbroken tones to it. "Mum's here somewhere. And even if we can't find her, I'm sure she just went out to get milk or something."

I was quiet, unable to come up with an answer and I assumed he just took that as he had reassured me that everything was okay. But I knew it wasn't. Mama wouldn't of left us alone without telling us before she was gone. Mama cares about us. She wouldn't of left. She wouldn't of! She's our Mama! She loves us! She wouldn't make us worry like this! That's why I _know_ something's amiss!

"Mum?!" Amycus actually called now and it honestly surprised me out of my skin. "Mum?! Where are you?!" he called again as we walked into the living room. Like the staircase, everything was so incredibly darkened. The only light that we had to guide us was the dim eerie light of the slivered moon coming from our enormous window.

Amycus walked us over to the window and looked out it obviously looking for Mama. "Don't see her out there." he whispered to himself. "Maybe she's in the front."

Everything felt impossibly calm at the moment. Not us of course, but our surroundings. It felt like the breath before the plunge. Everything around us was taunting us with it's tranquil nature. That just made everything all the more terrifying.

Pictures were staring at us with smiles. They laughed at us as we walked into the front hall. Everything around us had some sort of way to look intimidating. Especially to a little girl like me. If I'm not careful, the world could swallow me up whole.

Startling my entire self, Amycus gently lowered me to the ground and turned so he could see my face. I just wanted to grab a hold of him again. He was my safety blanket. My teddy bear when I was afraid. Without him, I don't know what I'll do with myself.

I tried to hug him, but he held my arms tenderly as he kneeled to my eye level, "Stay here, okay? I'm going outside to check."

"No!" I said with fear hitting my chest as if a bolt of lightning had just struck through me. "No Amycus! I'm not letting go outside by yourself! You could get lost! I don't want to lose Mama _and you_! Pl-please don't leave me here! Pl-pleas-se Am-Amycus! So-Some-one c-could -" I was crying and I couldn't think straight, let alone talk like a normal human being.

His eyes widened as he saw the tears fly down my cheeks, "Alecto," he whispered comfortingly. "Shh. I'll be okay. I'm just going to look for Mum. I'll be back in a minute at most!"

"_No_!" I cried hugging onto him. "I-I'm not lo-losing my bro-ther!"

He gently hugged me into his chest consolingly, "Alecto, calm. You're alright. We're alright. Mum's alright. We're all going to be alright my Dear. We're going make it through this."

"Promise?" I sighed as the tears leaked from my eyelids.

"I won't promise." he whispered. "But I'll do my damn hardest to make sure that we're going to be okay. I'm almost one hundred percent sure Mum's okay, but I don't know for sure. What I will promise though is that I'll do everything in my power to make sure that we'll be okay. No matter the stakes. You understand?"

I nodded understanding his meaning and then hugging him tighter, "Don't go outside by yourself. Let me come with you."

He nodded and sighed softly, "Fine. But you gotta listen to me out there okay?"

I nodded feeling my chest booming with fear, "I will."

"Just for precaution though." he insisted. "I'm sure that nothing's going to happen, but still. You need to listen to every word I say."

"I will Amycus." I promised.

"Alright, now," he gently let go of me and turned himself so I could climb onto his back again. I did that exactly and huddled closely into his shoulder for both the comfort and protection.

We stepped outside into the July night. Unlike the average person would suppose, it was oddly chilly out for a summer night. Again…it just made tonight all the more scary. Another contributing factor to making the night more terrifying was like inside, it was eerily calm.

There was no wind blowing the trees or a cloud in the sky. Just the unnaturally ghostly moon peeking out at us as if he were stalking us in the night. I huddled into Amycus' shoulder and hid my eyes. I'd had enough tonight. I don't want to do this anymore. I just wish Mama would come out and stop playing this cruel game.

"Lumos." Amycus stated simply. I looked up to see a soft blue angelic light omit from the tip of his oak wand. The light didn't help much, but he kept it on anyway. It was a little comforting actually and I think that's why he kept it on.

It felt like we were walking for ages around the property, just searching for a glimpse of our Mama, but nothing popped up. I think Amycus thought I was sleeping to be honest, but there was no way I could be sleeping right now. Not without knowing what happened to Mama.

"Hey," Amycus stated to himself after a while. "Alecto, are you awake?"

I nodded against his shoulder, "Yeah."

"Look," he pointed out into the distance where the forest began. A person was emerging out from the forest. They looked a little frantic to be honest. He or she was running around unsure of what to do with themselves slouched and stomping. "_Muggles_!" shouted a masculine voice so incredibly angry. "_Murder_! The filth! The absolute _scum_!" the man hissed as if he were right next to us sending trembles down my back.

I hid in Amycus' neck and whispered desperately trying to remain quiet "What should we do?"

"I don't know." he sighed back.

"THE SHAME!" cried the man. "TO KILL A HUMAN OF MAGIC AND DISREGARD HER IN SUCH A WAY!" he spat onto the ground. "At least I avenged her though." he said as if he were speaking to someone else. "The poor witch deserved better. We _all_ deserve better! This is _why_ we're fighting for our domination. It's because we _are better _than muggles. They'll destroy our magical blood because they are _afraid_ of such power that they cannot possess! Muggles are shameful. Muggles are dim. Muggles are the _murderers _of magical blood! This is _why_ we must destroy them!"

A crowd cheered surprising both Amycus and I out of our skins. I whimpered softly and he kissed my arm in comfort. He sighed softly referring to the forest, "I think someone's hosting a party."

"Who?"

"I have no clue Alecto. But I don't like the sound of it. It sounds like someone got killed. We're leaving."

"Bu-but what if it's Mama?!" I cried.

"It's _not_ Mum!" Amycus insisted harshly. "It's not!"

Fear was overtaking my entire system now. What if the witch that killed _was_ Mama?! I mean, where else could she be?! In that party?! I can't see that! Mama! Where are you?!

I felt myself convulsing with silent sobs, "Please Amycus! What if that's Mama?! What if she's dead?! What will we do?!"

"She's _not _dead Alecto!" he shook his head shaking that thought from his mind. "She's _not _dead."

"But _what if_ _she is_?!" I yelped.

"She's _not_ dead!"

"Well, well, well," a smooth, cool voice approached us with his mini army of people clothed in black behind him. It was that man with his party. He'd found us.

I yelped in fear as I hid into Amycus' neck. I wanted him to run and find a place to hide, but he stood there holding his ground. I thought he said that he'd make sure _we'd _be safe! He promised me! I was bawling now and he shhed me tenderly.

The man with the cool, wispy voice spoke again, "Why there's no need to cry little one. We aren't going to hurt you. I can smell the magic on you two. It's wonderful. You're from a pureblood family, aren't you? What's your surname boy?"

"C-Carrow." Amycus said shakily. "Do you know what happened to our mother?"

"Oh no!" the man said in absolute sadness as he tried to give a description to us. "That's why you two are out by yourself! Does she have long blonde hair? Is she small?"

"Yes!" I answered with tears still streaming like a river down my cheeks.

"Oh no." the man looked back at his party concerned. "These poor children…" he kneeled down to our level to reveal a snake like face with deep reddened eyes. I yelped a little in fear at this man's odd face, but Amycus kept his mouth shut. "My dears," the man spoke to us gently. "Your poor darling mother…was killed."

"_NO_!" I cried. "NO!" I didn't want to believe it. I _won't_ believe it! I just sobbed into Amycus without a care in the world. The deepest sadness took my chest and throbbed. Our Mama was dead…what are we going to do without her? How are we going to survive? Mama…please. Don't be dead like Dada…we need you. We aren't going to make it without you. I love you and I don't want you to leave us! Mama please! Come back to me and Amycus! Don't be dead for me! Please! We need you! We won't live without you!

"Alecto," Amycus was choked up, but wasn't showing it on his face. He spun me around and held me to his chest for as much comfort as he could give me. "Shh. It's alright. I know it hurts Sweetheart. I know."

"My poor Dears." the man whispered. "I promise you, she was avenged. We slaughtered the men who killed her for you."

"She was killed?" Amycus said with a shaky voice.

"Yes son." the man reached out. "I'm so sorry."

I sobbed just thinking about our poor Mama and just imagining the fear she must of went through. "Mama!" I cried. "I want Mama! I want my Mama!"

"Alecto shh Sweetheart." Amycus whispered so shakily. He was desperately trying to hold back tears of his own. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"You see!" the man turned to his group of friends. "This is what Muggles do! They tear families apart! They hurt the innocence. They'll do _anything_ to destroy us!"

"Wait," Amycus whispered to the group in surprise. "They killed Mama because she was magic?"

"Exactly son!" the man twisted to us once again. "Sure, they might not know magic exists, but Muggles sense there's a difference between us magic folk and them. They _think _they can overpower us…but they can't. Magic is everything son…and muggles will seek anything they don't understand and try to destroy it."

"That's why they killed our Mum?" he shook his head in disbelief. "They…wanted to kill her magic…our magic…all magic?"

"Yes son. Muggles are…evil. That's why we must stop them."

"I don't want this to happen again." he said. "What if they hurt my sister? I won't let that happen! She's the last person I have left to keep me on earth!"

The man contemplated for a second, "How old are you boy?"

"Fourteen." he said still trying to hold back his tears. I had no idea why he was giving out his personal information…but there had to be a purpose to his scheme.

"And what's your name son?"

"Amycus…Amycus Carrow sir. And this is my sister Alecto. She's nine. Please sir. I need to protect her. She's the last person I have left. I won't lose her like I lost our Mum and Dad."

"Well, Amycus," the man kneeled again to our level gently. "If you want to protect your sister, us wizards must destroy muggles before they destroy us. It's a war Son. We must keep magic alive and you two are perfect examples of what muggles can do to us wizards."

"You destroy these monsters?" I whispered softly trying to control my tears.

"Yes Deary." he gave me a genuine, yet eerie smile. "We destroy these monsters. And we need people like you two to help us eradicate these evil beings."

I huddled into Amycus' chest and wiped my tears away as I looked up at him nodding.

If these muggles didn't exist…Mama would still be here today. We could still be happy…we could still be a family. But no. These muggles destroyed our mother and our choice of living. They stole our happiness. They stole our freedoms. They stole our love…

These people need to be destroyed or else, what happened to us will happen to someone else…and that was the lesson we learned that day. We must destroy muggles before they destroy us…and that was a lesson taught by our new parent…our Lord Voldemort.


	10. Alice Longbottom, Proud

Alice Longbottom.

I know I know you. There's something that I recognize. Something that I know so well. Something that belongs with me. You are apart of me somehow…and yet, I still cannot put my finger on it. Where did you come from?

I remember the first time I saw you. You were a beautiful little baby and I held you securely in my arms. Why? I'm not sure. But you were beautiful…and I remember a feeling of completion as I looked into your perfect hazel eyes.

I don't remember why you were in my arms though. I just retained the fact that you, a perfect little baby was in my arms when you were first born. Why? I cannot tell. Simply though, all the sudden you showed up in my life as a little baby and I've watched you grown into a young man.

Ever since I've been in this place, you've been here to visit me. Why?…I'm not sure. You call me Mum, but that could be my name for all I know. I can't even remember my own name now…or was I even born with one?

Anyways, I'm getting distracted again. I need to make myself figure out who you are. I've known you since you were a baby… and now you've grown into a handsome young man. I should know who you are…shouldn't I?

You always used to come with this appalling old woman who just blubbered and complained all day. She was such a mean person. You can tell she doesn't care for me or you when she's here. She wants to be elsewhere. She thinks the your attempts at jogging my memory are hopeless and there's no point to even try.

Well, there is…sure it's taken me probably over twenty years…but I'm trying to get to know you again…like I knew you before. From where? I'm still not sure. But I will get to know you again.

You give me candy, which I really do appreciate. I like the candy a lot and I wish I could thank you more because you come much more often than a regular person should.

I would of thought as you got older, you'd come less to see me…but I was wrong. You came more and more to visit. It was always nice when you came without that awful woman. She talks to me like there's something wrong with me…even though there is…but still. You try and talk to me as if I'll answer back…Like a normal human being…and I really do wish, with all my heart, that I could answer you back.

You are probably around twenty five now…I can see how much you've grown. Recently you've been bringing this nice girl with blonde hair around with you to see me. I highly prefer her over the bothersome old one. She's like you. Very kind at heart and good.

You deserve someone good…someone who can be there for you.

I smile thinking about how I can see you love her. You have this look in your eyes. This warmness that could make anyone happy. You can just tell you're so very joyful, and it's nice to see you this way.

Goodness…I say you've _recently _been bringing this girl around…but really, it's probably been a couple of years she's been visiting with you. She seems to make you stronger and I like that you feel this way.

Apparently you got married…whatever that means…I recognize the phrase, but it doesn't seem coherent in my mind. I still can't focus enough to actually analyze what the term means, but still…I'm happy for you.

"Hello Mrs. Longbottom," said a lady with short brown hair. She always comes in to check up on me. I don't really care for her, but I know she's here to help me, so I cooperate. "How are you today?"

Fine I guess…

"I have some special news for you." she smiled. "Are you up for a visitor? Your son wants you to meet someone special."

I gazed at her curiously and wondered to myself. My son? What the heck is that supposed to mean? I sighed, thinking that I'd rolled my eyes, but really I just blinked incoherently.

"You seem alright." she said to herself. "Hold on a second and I'll get him for you. Okay. I'll be right back."

` I didn't acknowledge her. As long as it's you, I'll be happy. I don't really like any other visitors. Sometimes your wife comes by herself and I don't mind that, but I much prefer it when you're here.

"Mum?" you came in making my heart beam a little in happiness. You looked ecstatic. So incredibly happy and proud. Your hazel eyes were beaming with pride and affection. "Mum, I got someone for you to meet." you smile looking down at a little bundle in your arms warmly.

I looked curiously at the bundle and he smiled as you came towards me. You sat down on my bed and gently uncovered the bundle a little and smiled at what was inside. "Mum," you gaze at me again with a joyful grin plastered on your handsome face. "I'd like you to meet your Granddaughter."

And all the sudden emotion filled me. Something that I can't remember feeling…but knowing that I would have had to felt before. I was looking down at a gorgeous little baby you again. I felt pride and absolute happiness. You were somehow holding the little baby version that I held somewhere deep in my memories. How?

I gazed up at you trying to smile, but I don't think it came across that way. You knew I was trying though.

I looked at the little you again a tried to smile. You spoke gently to me, "Her name's Alice Mum." he grinned a little. "We named her after you."

And all the sudden, a burst of memory came flooding back. I remember holding you in my arms…I was singing a lullaby to you…saying how much I loved you with a singsong voice. I remember you laughing your little heart out at my antics and I was just so happy to see you happy…

You're my son…my baby…that's who you are…

My son.

I felt an overwhelming feeling bubble in my chest. Tears started to come out of my eyes and I just tried to whisper that little song I remembered to him, but it was all coming out muffled.

"Mum," you looked concerned. "Mum, don't cry."

I don't want you to think I'm unhappy! I'm happier than I've been in my entire life. I touched your face and concentrated all my energy on tell you the one simple word that you needed to hear. "Proud."

You looked astonished as I looked at your beautiful little one again. You had tears of your own now leaking out, "Mum?" you smiled in disbelief as you held my hand to your face. "You're proud of me?"

"Proud." I whispered again meaning it with all my heart…You're my son…and now that I know this…I also know one other thing…I know that I couldn't be anything but proud of you son.

And we both just sat there staring at the new little you in your arms, crying at this epiphany and new little wonder you had made with your wife…another you.


	11. Alicia Spinnet, Damn Boys

Alicia Spinnet

"Really?" Cho gave Katie the rarest grin. The only time she smiles like that now is when she's getting ready to hear something juicy.

"Yeah." Katie chuckled shyly not really wanting to talk about it.

"Oh come on Kate!" Angelina urged, supporting Cho…why Angelina? You're just supporting the witch! She'll never go away now! "We'll all go!" she continued enthusiastically. "But you go first! I mean come _on_! You and Oliver have been together the longest!"

We were all sitting in the grass outside taking in the beautiful, cloudless, cerulean sky. It was the perfect weather for Quidditch…too bad the match is tomorrow, hopefully the weather will stay good for us though!

But anyways, in our little circle were my best friends, the fiery and ambitious Angelina Johnston who was sitting directly in the sun catching as many of the sun's rays as she could. The hysterically awesome Katie Bell who was half in the sun and half in the shade. The really sweet and quiet Ravenclaw girl who we've become closer to throughout our career here at Hogwarts, Trish Stimpson. She was sitting directly in the shade just reviewing her notes for a humongous potions test the next day. And finally…for reasons that I'm unsure of, the sneak Marietta Edgecombe and the annoyance Cho Chang, who seemed to be taking in all the sun they could.

Right now, we were sitting in a circle playing…well not really playing, but talking about the stupidest thing. Apparently Cho thought it would be a _good_ idea to talk about boys…as usual. Though, you'd think she'd be done with men for now. She never stops crying about Cedric, but I guess it takes her mind off of him.

Interrupting my thoughts, Marietta had snatched Trish's book and threw it away from the group, "Enough studying Trish!" she laughed a little meanly. I honestly think she was trying to act cool, but it was exact opposite of cool in my mind. Trish looked really surprised at this notion, but didn't say anything and just wrapped her arms around her knees. "Sorry."

I laughed, "Don't be sorry Trish! Marietta needs to be sorry for surprising you."

Marietta rolled her eyes not apologizing at all for what she did, "Anyways Katie, continue, what have you and Oliver done."

Katie looked uncomfortable and I knew she didn't want to say anything about her relationship in front of Cho or Marietta. She didn't trust either them, and I don't blame her. Marietta rolled her eyes getting an idea in her smile, "Okay fine! Here's the deal, we'll each talk about how far we've gone with a guy! Then it's even!"

Hardly…I looked down kind of embarrassed. Why do we have to talk about guys? Honestly? There's no point! They're idiots. I said just that trying to lighten the mood, but Marietta just eyed me. "What's wrong Sweetheart? Still haven't kissed a boy?"

I felt shocked by this accusation. Why the _hell_ would she say something like that?!…even though it is true, but still! It's like she knows I'm self conscious about that fact! Sure, I know it doesn't matter, but still! I'm self conscious! Why does she have to be so effing condescending about it?! Is she just trying to get some gossip from us to spread so she can get a little payback for her pimply situation?!

"Um…" Trish said gently backing me up. "I'd rather not play this game either."

"_Oh no_!" she laughed. "You're with the Slytherin. We're totally hearing something from you Sweetheart. He's probably done some really nasty stuff with you."

Trish looked a little offended by this claim and that's when I felt like it was time to step in. Trish never stands up for herself, and I don't like it when people walk all over my friends. Sure she's dating a Slytherin, but still, I've seen him…he's good with her. "Calm your shit Mary." I said annoyed. "This is stupid. We hardly know you…why are you even here?"

"Oh!" Cho looked surprised by what I said. "Sorry. Um, we just thought you'd like to talk."

"About guys? Not me. No thank you." I stood up. "I'm getting out of here. Anyone want to come with?"

My true friends stood up and we all said goodbye to the two gossiping Ravenclaw girls. Great…now they're probably going to spread that I actually haven't kissed a guy. We let Trish go pick up her book and we were quiet as we walked towards the castle.

Again, I was admiring the day. Without those bitches chattering away, the day seemed even nicer. The birds were singing and the sky was now filled with wispy clouds just playing with the sun. Trish all the sudden smiled a little at me, "Thank you."

"For what?" I chuckled.

"For defending Adrian." she whispered softly just so I could hear. "I really appreciate it."

I rolled my eyes at her and laughed gently, "You don't need to thank me Trish." "Yes I do," she chuckled. "I should have stood up for you too."

"You did." I smiled and patted her back. "You backed me up. And don't worry about it. You're a true friend. I appreciate it. "

She smiled a little, "Thanks. I just wish all this silly stuff would stop. I mean come on! We're in our seventh year of Hogwarts, shouldn't all this stupid stuff be over with?!"

Angelina laughed, "You said it Trish. You think gossip would be overrated by now."

"And talking about guys like we're part of a sitcom…" Katie chucked. "How silly of them."

"Don't take what they said personally Alicia," Angelina added. "Sure, you haven't kissed anyone, but you just haven't met a guy awesome enough yet for you!"

"Yeah!" Trish chuckled. "You need someone who can keep up with you mentally and on the Quidditch field! Someone with some backbone!"

I giggled, "Funny…I haven't met any guys like that at Hogwarts…"

"You'll meet him someday Alicia." Katie smiled brightly. "Don't you worry. But remember, you're a strong, confident woman who can easily take care of herself and her friends in their time of need!"

"Thanks," I chuckled softly. It was nice that they were trying to make me feel better, but honestly I just wish that we could stop talking about it. I don't think everyone realizes how embarrassed I am over this stupid little thing…I mean come on…I'm seventeen, going on eighteen and I haven't even had my first kiss…it feels pathetic.

Everyone around me is in a relationship and I'm not even a little close to one. It just doesn't seem fair. Angelina is with Fred, and they don't stop laughing and joking around with each other…I wish I had a boyfriend to laugh with at everything. Katie's with Oliver, and sure, he doesn't come to Hogwarts anymore, but it hurts inside every time she gets a letter from him…I wish I had a boyfriend sending me letters, telling me he loves me. And finally, sweet Trish has Adrian. Sure I don't know a lot about him, but you can tell they care for each other. Just by the way he looks at her, you can tell he's in love…I wish I had a boyfriend who would look at me like Adrian looks at Trish…Even if he was a Slytherin…I wouldn't mind.

I sighed and shook these feeling away, knowing that they were pathetic… "Whatever," I forced a smile. "Let's just get on with our day! Who needs guys?"

Everyone laughed and we all headed into the castle for some lunch. The great hall was ridiculously busy for some reason. Trish yelped as someone roughly pushed us so they could get through.

"Jeez." I laughed as we finally got into the hall and sat at our table. "It's like people haven't had lunch before." All the girls chuckled, but that's when girls time got interrupted by a bright red headed kid who sat down next to Angelina. "Hello Lovely, quiet lunch huh?" Fred Weasley smiled and kissed his girlfriend's cheek.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Quiet alright. Why's it so crowded?"

"There was a fight."

"A fight?" Katie looked concerned. "Is everyone alright?"

"Oh yeah." Fred laughed. "You know the usual. A Slytherin and Hufflepuff, getting into an exhilarating duel to the death."

Everyone looked at Fred surprised. A Hufflepuff? Really? Getting into a fight with a Slytherin?…god I wish I was there to watch! That would have been as funny as hell! Everyone just laughed after a minute, "Really Fred?" Katie chuckled. "You're joking right?"

"No." Fred smirked. "That's the best part. I'm not."

"Then who was it?" Angelina burst with laughter as she grabbed onto his arm. "And why were they fighting?"

"It was Crabbe with that tall chaser kid from Hufflepuff…damn…what's his name again? Brunette hair."

"Oh my god!" I laughed not believing what I was thinking. "Was it Malcolm Preece?" It had to be. Malcolm was the craziest chaser Hufflepuff had. He made their team actually exciting to play with. He was an awesome guy. We sat next to each other in charms and always had a blast…he seemed like he had a passionate soul…but fighting with a Slytherin…how?

"Yeah!" Fred beamed. "That's him! He was really getting into it too! Bashing almost the entire team for playing unfairly in the past!"

I could see Trish looking down trying not to say anything because she didn't want to upset Fred. I smiled though, "I'm sure he only commented on that prat Draco and the rest of his squad. Right?"

Trish smiled at me appreciatively as Fred continued, "Yeah exactly!" he beamed. "It was awesome!"

"Who ended up winning?" Katie chuckled.

"Who do you think?" Fred rolled his eyes. "I would have loved to see the little Hufflepuff win."

"Is he alright?" I asked concerned.

"No idea," he shrugged. "Was sent to the hospital wing I think."

"Jeez," Poor Malcolm. Good on him for trying though. That just makes him even more awesome in my books. "Anyways," Fred got up. "I'm gunna go. George and I have some planning to do for tomorrow."

"Quidditch related?" Angelina looked at him sternly.

"Yeah," he shrugged, but then realized what she was thinking. She was the Quidditch captain after all! "Not what you're thinking Doll."

"You're not planning on cheating are you?" "Course not!" he looked as playfully offended as he could. "You can't cheat at Quidditch! That's like cheating at life!"

"Mmhmm?" she looked at him suspiciously. "I need to see what you're doing then."

"Fine," he shrugged. "You're coming with us then?"

"Yes." she laughed. "I need to approve of your antics before anything happens."

"You always approve of our antics." he chuckled as he and Angelina stood up. "Anyways, see you ladies later. And Trish, tell your boyfriend we're gonna crush 'em."

"Please not literally." she giggled softly. "Make sure they don't Angelina."

"I will Trish. Bye everyone!"

And then there were three. I smirked at both Katie and Trish, "Who wants to bet ten bucks that as soon as they get upstairs they're just going to start making out?"

Katie grinned, "I totally agree! I'm not betting against that! They hardly ever stop!"

"Neither will I." Trish giggled as she picked a few grapes from the bowl in front of her. "I hate to imagine what you guys witness in your dormitory with those two."

Both Kate and I laughed at this unexpected comment from Trish. It's unlike her to say something like that, and it was a refreshing colour on her. "Anyways," I smirked. "Are you guys up for Quidditch tomorrow?"

"Course." Katie grinned and we high-fived.

Trish chuckled, "I'm torn tomorrow! I'll be happy with whoever wins!"

"Don't tell your boyfriend that." Katie chuckled. "I think he's crazier about Quidditch than we are."

"Yeah," she smirked softly obviously absentmindedly thinking about him in some way. "He is kind of crazy about Quidditch."

"Not as crazy as Oliver I bet." Katie chuckled.

…And here we go again…more _boy_ talk. Damn…why did I have to open my mouth about Quidditch?

This is why! Quidditch! My calling! Finally! It's time for the season to start! I grinned, loving the feeling of my uniform on me again. I felt so strong and yet so graceful at the same time. It felt great to be able to just hold a quaffle in between my hands. This again, made me feel more prevalent in this world…like I actual mean something to someone…I guess that's why I love Quidditch so much.

I sighed annoyed as Katie got another letter from Oliver, wishing her and our team well on our Quidditch match. It made her and the rest of us laugh to discover that there were notes and tips on how to win because he knew from "personal experience" what we needed to work on…that's Oliver for you.

Katie kissed the letter and chuckled, "We'll win for you! At least I'll definitely try my best!"

"We'll win Katie." Angelina grinned at the team. "Don't you worry. Heck, we got some amazing Chasers! An awesome seeker and two unbeatable beaters. What could go wrong?"

"Aw," Fred just laughed. "Thanks for ripping off Oliver's speech to make us feel better Babe."

"No problem." she smirked back pecking his cheek and shoving his club into his chest. "Now let's get out there team! Let's win this!"

The team cheered and we all headed out with both Fred and Angelina following us out, hand in hand at least until we had to take off. I rolled my eyes and just let this energy of annoyance get me revved up for Quidditch. That's the better thing to do rather than just mope!

We waited for probably a good five minutes and then the one and only Lee Jordan came on the speaker and began his hysterically professional monologue to introduce the teams. "AND HERE COMES THE BEST TEAM! GRYFFINDOR!" and we all mounted our brooms and flew up into the breathtaking sky. I beamed feeling the wind hit my cheeks. The anticipation was now beginning…this was the part I loved.

Lee announced each of our names enthusiastically and then, came our the Slytherin team, with the little shit bag Draco Malfoy in the front looking douchier than ever as he flew up into the sky.

I saw Trish's boyfriend fly up into the sky far more subtly than Malfoy. He was looking through the crowd trying to find his girlfriend's face. I chuckled looking right at her, I'd already found Trish in the crowd. She was bouncing in the stands trying to wave at him with Luna Lovegood helping her out. He beamed finally seeing her and waved back subtly trying to remain cool for everyone else.

Damn…why can't I have that? Why can't I wave to someone in the crowd cheering me on? I looked down and sighed softly, but then brushing it off once again. Pull it together Alicia…

I rolled my eyes and got ready for the game to start, and once it did, all my thoughts were gone. Boys, school, friends, stress, love life, everything. It was all gone and everything was taken over by thoughts of Quidditch and what was needed to be accomplished. It was overwhelming actually. I'd forgotten how much I missed this game and the competitiveness of it.

After about a minute, I beamed focusing only on the Quaffle and scoring us ten points for Gryffindor! The crowd cheered for me, as did my team. And then we were off again! This process continued for what seemed like minutes, but really it was almost two hours.

I was so focused, and so determined, I didn't even realize how much time had gone by! Harry was focusing incredibly hard on the snitch and I cheered him on trying to entice him further to get the snitch for us. "You can do it Harry!" I beamed as I threw the quaffle into one of the three goal posts.

Gryffindor cheered me again and I felt more alive than I had all summer. Everyone was shouting my name in celebration! I'm the centre of attention and everyone knows I'm alive! This is why I love Quidditch so _damn_ much!

With Quidditch, I'm someone people care about. I'm a warrior fighting for our pride and I don't need anyone to hold me down or do it for me. I am a strong confident woman who doesn't need anyone. I'm a Quidditch player…and a _damn_ good one at that.

I beamed as I scored yet again, hearing the crowd scream my name in excitement. Quidditch is the love of my life and I don't need anyone to keep me going. Who fucking cares that I haven't had my first kiss yet?! I bet _many _girls have never played Quidditch the way I do! And I know someday I will kiss someone, but right now, I'm satisfied with Quidditch, and absolutely no one can take this moment away from me.


	12. Alphard Black, Brave

()()()()()Note()()()()()

Alright, so I wrote this one-shot kinda…canon and non canon…Non canon because it says in the Harry Potter Wiki that Alphard died prior to1996, but that means he'd only be around seventy when he died. Also, no one ever did say that he died in the books or movies (I'm sorry if I'm wrong on that) and I thought this would be a nice way to do Alphard's one-shot. Nonetheless, I hope enjoy! And thanks for reading!

Alphard Black

Sirius…is dead? I stared at the paper for the longest time reading the bold words stating that my nephew Sirius Black was dead. The paper was written as if this devastating news was a triumph for everyone. The "murderous" Sirius Black was no longer a problem for the wizarding world…I felt a heavy feeling begin to swell in my chest as I read the article over and over again.

One thing is for certain; my nephew is _not_ and never was a murderer. Sure, he had the occasional Black sense and bullied a bit, and sure, I'm not proud of that, but I _know _he was never a murderer. He wouldn't murder someone intentionally just to kill. That's not the kind of person he is…well, was.

I…just can't believe he's gone. He can't be gone…It's been years since I last saw him on that warm sunny night…and now he's dead. I felt my eyes trickle a little, but I pushed them away and got up from the paper.

I didn't want to believe the Daily Prophet. I want to think that it's lying to me, but I know they wouldn't lie about such a thing in there. My nephew had the whole wizarding world in turmoil about two…maybe three years back now. His _supposed_ murder plots making every witch and wizard coward at the thought.

I know him well enough. I know he wasn't a murderer. And it kills me to know that everyone else thinks he is…well, _thought_ he was

My chest cooed pain at me as I thought of my poor nephew. He didn't deserve such criticism. He's not a murderer. He would of never of betrayed his friend…practically brother James Potter. He would never…

Sirius…I wish we would of kept our promise to each other. I wish you would have come to me as soon as you were on the run from Azkaban. I would have sheltered you away from all of that. You're the only person in the family that I had left Sirius…you were the only person I was proud to call my family…

And the ridiculous part of that is if I told anyone that out loud, they would think me mad since they thought you were a murderer.

I paced now. Just back and forth realizing what had become of you. I mean…it can't be real. It just can't be. It feels like just yesterday I saw you for the last time…and yet, I know it was over two decades ago. Far longer than that actually…you were only a mere but damaged young sixteen year old who needed an out at the time.

I remember the very words you said to me that summer evening. I always recollect them every once in a while…trying to analyze the situation further. Wondering if there was anything more that I could have done to help you…

"I'm going Uncle." I can hear your voice now ringing in my eardrum. "This family…" you sighed miserably. "It's indescribable…it's putrid, it's nothing but bad. I don't belong here. No one cares for me! Not even my own mother! Don't you see Uncle? Don't you see the way they treat me?"

I saw Sirius…and it killed me every time your mother hit you or scolded you on something foolish. Just because you were different from the _traditional_ Black visage both she and everyone else in our family punished you for it…whereas I celebrated these differences with you.

You and I were more similar than you know Sirius…well, knew…Yes…I know this sounds immodest son, but I was your favourite Uncle for a reason. When I was your age, I was in the exact same position you were in. Though we handled it quite differently, I still felt the exact same way you did. I hated my life at home and everything about our family. The Black family is a crude and unjustified evil in the wizarding community. We care only for blood purity…no matter the cost. And that's why I'm glad you had the guts to leave our family.

I never told you this because I felt that you were too young. You would always ask me why I never got married. And I would always tell you the same generic and untrue answer, "I haven't found the right woman yet…"

In fact, I had found the right woman…but unfortunately she wasn't right for our family. She was a muggleborn. And because I was in family full of crazed blood purists, I had to end it before something bad happened to her.

I know you well enough to know that you would ask me, "Why? Why wouldn't you just leave with her and change your family name?"

"It's because I was afraid," I answered you as if you were talking to me at this very moment. "You don't realize what kind of power the Black family had at that time…and still has. I wasn't brave like you were Sirius. I wish I was as brave as you were son…to of left the family would have been my dreams come true…but I was not brave like you were. That just explains my childhood really!

"I was always the follower in our family. I would never lead because I was too afraid to do so. I wanted to be different, but I was to scared of the repercussions!…In fact, I _wanted_ to be a Gryffindor like you ended up being Sirius…but I was too afraid that if I ended up in that house, the family would disown me! And the ridiculous part of that was, I _wanted _to be disowned…but again…I was too afraid to of the thought.

"That explains why you ended up in Gryffindor and I in Slytherin! I told the Sorting hat that I belonged in Slytherin…it's where my family would of wanted me to be…and if kept following the family line…everything would be well…but whereas with you, you _happily_ went into Gryffindor! And you adored every step of the journey! You loved going against the family norms and causing tension! You were just so damn brave Sirius…and I envy that trait in you son…"

I stopped for a second and reflected on what I had said out loud for the first time in decades. As I pondered I hadn't realized that I was crying over the thoughts.

Sirius…you were_ so_ brave. You didn't deserve to die. You left our family for a reason…with great purpose. And not only did you release yourself…but you released me too.

When our family discovered that I helped you escape, they disowned me as well and burnt my picture on the family tree with a flick of their wands, without a second thought.

You not only released yourself…but you were brave enough for the both of us and helped me escape as well my Dear Sirius…

You are my saviour…I felt tears slipping down my crooked nose as I thought of that painful sentence once again…you _were my _saviour.

My saviour is now dead…my nephew…the supposed murderer…the best friend a person could have…the bravest man I ever knew…was dead. And the worst part was, I couldn't ever return the favour and save him like he saved me.


	13. Ambrosius Flume, Simple

Ambrosius Flume

Simply, I'm a simple man with a simple complexion, a simple but graduated mind and a simple life. I like my job, I like my home, and I'm fond of everything around me. Another thing that I like is that everyone I meet seems fond of me too; especially children. That probably comes from the fact that I own a candy shop though. Whenever parents say to their children that I own a candy store, they always get friendly with me right away. I find it rather funny actually.

I sighed softly to myself as refilled the Jelly Slugs once again. They always are such a fast seller. Especially when the students of Hogwarts come down on their weekend trips. I always look forward to when the Hogwarts students come up to Hogsmeade. Not only for the business, but everything gets so much more exciting around here also.

I enjoy some excitement every once in a while.

"Ambrosius?" my wife called me from upstairs. "Ambrosius? Are you down there?"

"Yes Dear." I called back. "Sorry, I'm just refilling the slugs like you asked."

She laughed as she came down the stairs. Her firing red hair in disarray, but still prettily done. She rolled her eyes with a chuckle, "You do it _now_?"

I shrugged with a smirk, "At least I remembered to do it!"

"You really do make me crazy sometimes old man." she laughed softly. Her laugh always reminded me of a wind chime blowing in a gentle breeze. So delicately whimsical that it makes anyone smile.

As I thought, a smile came to my face and I couldn't help but laugh with her, "I don't do it on purpose."

"Ah, I think you're fibbing on that." her brown eyes were twinkling playfully as she helped me with the rest of the slugs. While we pushed them out of the cooling container I thought again about the Hogwarts students and the fact that they would surely be coming tomorrow for candy. I remember when I was their age. I was always excited about coming here and seeing something new that I hadn't seen before.

That's why I always loved about coming down to Hogsmeade. There was always something here that I hadn't seen before…It was always so new and exciting. Now that I live here though…I see the same stuff everyday…I guess that's what comes with age. The new becomes old rather quickly. And the old gets rather repetitive.

"What're you thinking about Sweetheart?" my wife smiled at me comfortingly. "You look like you're in a whole different world right now."

"Thinking about old times." I sighed softly. "Like when we were in Hogwarts."

She chuckled light-heartedly, "The good ole days."

"Exactly." I nodded. "You remember coming to Hogsmeade for the first time? Everything was so exciting and new…It's what those students will feel tomorrow."

She seemed like she already knew what was wrong…like she always does. Ever since I met her I knew she'd be the one for me. She knew how I was feeling even before I knew how I felt. She could read my mind and I always loved that about her. That's also why we make such a good team. There's no way Honeydukes would have been successful without her.

She stroked my face tenderly and pecked my chin, "Don't dwell on the past Ambrosius. Think about your future. Our future." she squeezed my hands. "Sure it's nice to dwell on those happy memories every once in a while, but don't think about all the 'what ifs'." she pecked my cheek. "You have an excellent life that most people would kill for."

I sighed softly, "I know Darling, but I just feel like something's missing."

"It's your real hip." she smirked playfully.

I chuckled gently at the thought, but still exhaled softly, "I miss the feeling of being young Dear…"

"You're not going through a midlife crisis are you?" she looked at me with gentled eyes. "You're sixty three Ambrosius. A midlife crisis would not look good on a sixty year old man."

"No Love," I laughed. "It's not that. It's just…it feels like something's missing." I sighed. "I don't know what…"

She seated me down on a stool nearby and sat daintily on my lap like we were back in Hogwarts again. She gazed at me, trying to read my face, "You miss the excitement aspect of Hogsmeade don't you?" she whispered. "That's why you wanted to move here in the first place…you loved all the magic here…all the new. And the new has just gotten old for you…hasn't it?"

This was true…Not a lot of people knew this, but I am a muggleborn wizard. Both of my parents are muggles and I didn't have any clue of magic until my powers came up. Living in an all magic town like Hogsmeade would have been a dream come true for me. Especially when growing up without any knowledge of magic, I felt like I needed to catch up. That's why Hogsmeade felt perfect for me. It's where I belonged. But all Hogsmeade had to offer me, all the newness of the magic has become aged …like me…and it's sad to say, I miss all the newness it had for me.

I miss seeing it for the first time.

I nodded answering my wife, "I guess so…I just wish I could see it from a child's eyes again. Remember? Like the first time?"

She smiled softly at the memory, "Yeah I remember. You were so excited seeing this "all magic town". You were so excited and that just made me excited. It was a wonderful day…but you wanna know how I also remember it?"

"How?" I looked at her gently

"I also remember that day as an anniversary in a way too," she smiled shyly. "That day, was the first time I realized you felt the same way I did about you. You liked me…more than a friend. Before that…I thought you only considered me as a buddy or a chum…and I'd sadly accepted that," she laughed softly and I heard her voice shake a little in happiness. "But then you held my hand for the first time…and my life changed forever…for the better."

My chest warmed a little hearing such a thing. She'd never told me that before and the shake in her voice was breaking my heart. She chuckled softly, "This was also the place where you first kissed me…" she smiled with her voice still shaking softly. "Remember?" she laughed. "Just outside the Shrieking Shack? Definitely not the most romantic place in Hogsmeade…but it was still amazing…"

I smiled at her recollection, remembering it myself now…I was so nervous, but trying to remain cool because she was scared of the shack. I wanted to be tough for her…yet I was still a big baby on the inside.

Her lips trembled unconsciously and she rubbed her eyes with a small smile. I don't think she was talking to me now…she was talking to herself. "You also proposed to me here…in front of this building in fact…and we got married over in the hills, just enough so we could still see the village…So many memories…"

"Don't cry Darling." I whispered kissing her shoulder and wrapping my arms around her. "I'm sorry."

"Oh goodness!" she realized that she was being emotional and quickly got up and brushed away any sadness from her face. "No no! Don't be sorry! It's late. I'm just overtired. I better head to bed." and with that she headed upstairs so she could get her composure back together.

I felt a little bad honestly. She was right. Sure I'd seen everything in Hogsmeade…but we had _so many _memories here that were attached to this place. Memories that I haven't dwelled upon in ages…memories that would make this place come back to life again.

I felt bad for basically calling this place boring. It wasn't. It was memory filled…and my wife was obviously so attached. How could I insult this memory filled town? It's ours. Why would I call out something that didn't need to be…?

I needed a walk, but I was taking my wife with me. I wasn't going to leave her in distress. Quickly, I walked upstairs to find her washing dishes that had already been washed. Her hair was in more disarray then before. Half was up in its bun and the rest was down on her shoulders.

I approached touching her back. She looked up at me and I smiled taking her hand, "Come on. Let's go for a walk."

It was a lovely cool night. The snow had freshly falling making the starry night crisp and fresh. The moon was full, giving us a lot of light to walk in. I felt secure. My wife held my hand tightly. She was always nervous walking around at night. Especially since the threat of Lord Voldemort…but tonight, I wasn't in fear. Nothing about tonight could be wrong. Everything was so tranquil, and quiet…it felt peaceful.

I looked around where we were; now that my wife had brought up all these memories…I can see them too now. Everyplace in this town, I seemed to have a recollection of us there somehow.

Such as, over there at that disgusting Hogs Head Inn…that's where we accidentally had our first date. We were planning on going to Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop, but ended up going there by accident. Though a dirty place that smelt of goats and soiled kippers we had a wonderful time. The service was odd, but nice enough…

And over there, at Zonko's, we laughed together for hours many a time. The shop was so zany that we spent hours on end in there just laughing the night away. So many inside jokes made inside that shop that we still have today…it was the place where I'd truly fallen in love with her whimsical laugh…

And over there…at Tomes and Scrolls where we had met for the first time when we landed on station when we were eleven, and at the hair salon where I accidentally saw her getting her hair done for our wedding, and at the music shop where I had paid the man running the shop to serenade her on our second anniversary…or was it our third? No matter…this town just had so many memories that somehow I had forgotten…

"What's your scheme Ambrosius?" she whispered softly as I watched her breath mist off into the air. The wind was hitting her face turning it a harsh red. I caressed her cheeks and smiled finally approaching the Shrieking Shack.

"Oh no Ambrosius!" she said nervously. "It's too dangerous to be out here right now!"

"No no." I brushed her hair from her face. "Come on. I want to enjoy a memory with you. Come on," I gently tugged on her hand and smiled, remembering having to do this the first time. I had to tug on her delicate hand so she'd come with me. "No Ambrosius! What if someone catches us here?!"

"Oh come on Sweet!" I chuckled remembering my young voice so cheerful, trying to remain tough though for her beneficial.

"Please can we go? Let's go to Zonkos." she suggested in my recollection, her fiery hair blowing in the harsh wind like it was tonight.

"No!" I laughed and looked at her now. "Now come on!"

"Ambrosius!" she yelped as I pulled her closer to the shack.

She was nervous, I could tell…and like I did when I was young, I took advantage of this simple fact and gently kissed her to make her smile.

I could feel memories floating back to me. Hogsmeade was my home for a reason. Sure, I've gotten used to it, but I'd forgotten the reasons why I loved this little town so much. It had my wife and I written all over it. Pieces of our memories were laid across Hogsmeade and painted a picture of our lives together…this is why I love this place…this is why I love my simple life.

As our faces separated she smiled. I hadn't realized that there were tears in her eyes. About to brush them away, I gently lifted my hand to brush the tears from her cheeks, but she took it tenderly with a smile. "Thank you my Love."

"For what?" I chuckled.

"For my life with you Ambrosius…" she whispered. "Though it's simple, I wouldn't have changed one bit of it. I have you," she whispered shakily with happy tears. "And that makes me happy."

I couldn't help it. I pecked her gently again and smiled. I agreed completely. Thinking about all this in retrospect made me realize how lucky I truly was. Sure, I live a simple life, and sure, I'm no longer a child…but I have my wonderful simple life with my wife…and I wouldn't have changed one aspect of it. Why go back now when I can look back and enjoy them here with her?

And with that, we smiled at each other one last time and walked back to the house, hand in hand, like we did on our first trip to Hogsmeade.


	14. Amelia Bones, Power

Amelia Bones

You're all I have now. I didn't need anything else and you're all I wanted. You made me happy. You were my sunshine when the days were grey…and you're all I can think about now to make this situation better for me.

I adjusted the way I was sitting, but winced as I did so. Everything hurt so much and sitting on this awful stone hard floor wasn't making anything more comfortable for me. My eyes continued to search for something that could help me, yet I knew I was helpless. I've been trapped in the darkness of this broom closet sized room for days now.

I felt the length of the walls. A rough cement like material was scraping against my fingertips as I looked for something along the lines of a light switch. I've done this more times than I can count, but I can't and won't stop trying. Voldemort can keep me locked up in here for as long as he wants, but he's not getting any information from me. He can hurt me, starve me and deprive me in any way…I'm not giving that asshole any information.

I weakly shifted about the room, trying to look for a light, but nothing was found. I sighed and pulled my hands back to my lap and leant my head uncomfortably against the solid cemented wall. I sighed as I thought about my young niece again. She's the only thing in the world that keeps me going…I couldn't do my job; I couldn't get through my day, heck! I don't think I'd be alive without her in my life. I don't have a husband or a child of my own. She's like my child. Her mother barely takes care of her so I gladly do it for her.

Susan…if only you could see your Auntie now…look at the mess she's gotten herself into. I shook my head at myself and sighed…I will make it through this for you Susan. I have no idea how, but I will. I can't let you go back to your mother. I know she loves you, but still. She's not motherly material. I can't let you turn into her…and I will never tell you this out loud, but your mother's a complete slut.

You Susan are destined to be a good and successful woman. You're going to have the life I wanted. You'll have a good paying job with a wonderful husband to come home to (who by the way, spoils you rotten) and five adorable children…hopefully they'll have good manners, but still, I'm sure they'll be adorable nonetheless.

You won't be like your mother, the biggest whore Europe has ever seen.

But I don't need to tell you that. You're too smart for that kind of nonsense anyway.

I shivered softly as covered my bare feet with my blackened robes. I could only hear my shallow breath as I listened for any sign of life outside this forsaken room. Every once in a while I would hear the occasional shuffle and someone eventually comes to question me again, but other than that…nothing. They're trying to break me mentally rather than physically now…I must say, that's rather impressive for the so called _Dark Lord_. They must really want some information from me if he's no longer utilizing violence and keeping me alive.

What the hell do they want though? They aren't asking me about that Potter kid, and even if they did, I wouldn't have the information they desire. I barely know anything about Harry Potter's plans or his whereabouts. That's none of the Ministry's business, no matter how much Cornelius Fudge wants it to be. Eh well, he's a nimrod…he'll probably be kicked out of office soon enough anyway…no point on dwelling upon him and his stupidity.

I exhaled thinking about my niece again. Dear Susan, you don't realize how much I miss you. You honestly are my sunshine, and without you, I don't know what to do with myself. You're the reason why I'm keeping my strength up in this awful room. I know…that one day I will see you again. No matter how long it takes…I will see you again Susan.

Sure, I'm at a dark spot…but I promise you Susan. We'll be back together again…eventually. And no matter what, I will never let these people hurt you. If I need to distract them away from you, I will…I'm not going to let you get hurt. This is not your war. And neither is it mine…but I will become a piece in it if I need to. You though…are not. You're not risking your life for something like this…in fact, no one should! This war is just for power…and the world would do a hell of a lot better without power in the first place.

And fighting for this _power_ helps absolutely no one. It hurts our world rather than helps it.

I think this is what Voldemort doesn't understand. If he kills all the good in this world and _just so happens_ to win this war…what is he going to do with it afterward? Kill every last bit a good…and then what? Nothing…he'll have nothing but chaos to deal with. All the bad leftover will unite against him and create one huge force of evil to take the power from him…it will become and endless cycle of evil deeds, blood, and death.

Voldemort thinks he'll be able to hold onto this power. But no no no…he can't and won't if he ends up winning this war. No matter how hard he tries, he will lose it eventually. That's just the way power works. It's a mechanism to start a fight. Power's not meant to stay in one person's hands, because it'll make the rest of the world angry and spiteful.

Power is not for darkness. If our world succumbs to its evil, it will therefore become evil. An evil world creates more evil…the wars will never end…good must thrive if we want our world to continue. Power belongs to the greater good…power belongs to people who can handle it.

Power should belong to people that can do some justice with it. Create more good in this world rather than evil…power should belong to people like my niece…

People who I _know _can do some good with this world. Because if they can brighten my life in the darkest of moments…such as this one. I know they can brighten the world from the shadows of the darkness.


	15. Amos Diggory, Eventually

Amos Diggory

I don't really understand my life anymore. It feels like I'm walking around a world that I don't even recognize…and yet, I've walked around my home more times than I could ever count. Everything feels so different…so lost…so dim and shady. I don't recognize anything here. It's like they were never there earlier and yet, I know they were there beforehand.

It feels like I'm walking through tar. Everything around me just feels dirty and sickeningly tacky. Everything feels so tremendously heavy for some reason. It's as if this world is trying to use me as support…but am I not the one who needs support in this new life? It's hard to move most days. Everything's so sore and this tenderness just continues…it never subsides. It's just an ongoing loop of throbbing and frailty. How the hell _do I _move most days?

The world feels like Limbo now. Everything around me is foreign and it feels like it should hurt me in someway. I looked up from the book I wasn't even reading to see a perfect white rose in the window. My wife, the Dear, always tries to make this new world more comfortable to make herself feel better. She tries to make it more beautiful…but it'll never be as gorgeous as before.

I looked at the rose. Its purity doesn't seem to belong in this tiresome world. It was far too delicate for the arduous atmosphere around it…

I sighed…it reminds me of something. Something wonderful. Something that I had before this new world swallowed us whole. I thought for a minute, thinking about this foreign concept. Why won't this world allow me to recognize a thing that makes me feel joy?…

I shook my head not understanding anything. I can't grasp why my wife and I must suffer this strange fate of losing such precious memories…our happy ones.

But why did we lose them? That's what I wish to know. We walk throughout this eerily disgusting world looking for something…but it's like we'll never ever find it. We will continue wandering…searching for the thing that's missing in our world.

Whether it's still out there…we're not sure. But we will continue searching for the missing piece of our lives…our rose…our world…our happiness.

Again…whether it's out there, we will never know, but my wife and I will continue searching for our happiness until the day we die. What it is, we're not sure. But there is something out there for us. Our happiness is out there and we will find it…eventually.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Hey guys, I'm so sorry it's so short, but my computer's being a jerk again, so I had to write this on an iPad. I'm sorry it's been so long! It's like my computer's trolling me! Anyways, I'm sorry again for all the stupidness and _hopefully _my computer will stop being a jerk soon!

Hope you enjoyed! I wrote it kind of like his wife and him had disassociate fugue. The loss of Cedric was so tragic…especially to Amos Diggory. And if you read my updates, you know that I am not very fond of this character. This was the only way I could write him without making him sound like an ass so…yeah! XD

_Anyways, _I can't wait to write the next few! They're going to be interesting for sure! Have a nice day, night, or whenever you're reading this and thanks again for the read! Hopefully my computer will be nice again soon and I'll get some longer oneshots for you to read!


	16. Amy Benson, The Bunny

Amy Benson

I smiled at Tom realizing that he was actually getting praised by Mrs. Cole for doing his chores. It was rare when this happened. Mrs. Cole always says he's such a naughty boy, but he's not. I just think people don't understand him. He really is a nice boy once you get to know him…but everyone just assumes he's bad due to his prior track record.

Yeah…he did in Billy's rabbit, which wasn't nice at all. It wasn't very pleasant to look at either. I remember looking up after our morning prayers to see the poor little bunny hanging lifelessly up in the ceiling rafters.

Everyone guessed it was Tom right away; seeing as he was the only one with a track record at the time. I was hoping it wasn't him…but unfortunately, he claimed it was with no argument whatsoever. I remember crying as I watched the poor little bunny up in the rafters rocking back and forth. All the caretakers thought I was crying because I saw the dead bunny, but actually I was mostly in disbelief that Tom would hurt such an innocent creature.

After all the commotion about the bunny, we were sent to our rooms so the caretakers could evaluate the situation…and I assumed they were thinking of a punishment for Tom. I remember sighing softly as I sat on my dusty little bed crying to myself.

I was overwhelmed and honestly, I didn't know what to think. Shouldn't I be mad at Tom for hurting the bunny? You would think…but I wasn't. I sincerely felt bad for Tom. I was scared for him because I knew how much trouble he was in. He's going to get so many smacks from our caretakers so he learns his lesson…but no one deserves that!…Billy must of done something to provoke him to doing such an act…Tom wouldn't do something like that just to be mean. Would he?

Knock! Knock!

I jumped hearing the surprising and unexpected noise come from my door. The caretakers wouldn't be knocking on our doors already. It usually takes them hours to make decisions like this…I gazed at the grey door curiously. Did I just imagine a knock? But destroying this theory, another knock occurred.

"Um…" I wiped the stray tears from my eyes, trying to regain some composure. "Come in?"

"Amy?" a voice whispered through the door. "Are you in there?"

I nodded unconsciously as I shakily assured the voice I was, "Yes. I'm in here…Who's there?"

The door opened slightly and a dark eye peeked through at me, "It's Tom."

I was so surprised to see him. Why on earth would he be coming to my door?! He's in so much trouble, and if he's caught out of his room, the caretakers are probably going to strangle him, "What - what are you doing here Tom? You're going to get into more trouble if you're caught."

He chucked softly. It wasn't a threatening chuckle…surprisingly, it was genuine and friendly. At the time, I'd never heard him laugh like that. In fact, I don't think I'd ever seen him smile. He was always stone faced…cold looking. To see him laughing was a little bit refreshing…it was nice to know that he was actually capable of it.

"Amy," he smirked again. "That's the last thing I'm worried about. I get into trouble on an hourly basis. I'm used to it by now."

Okay…you never really did answer my question, "So what are you actually doing here Tom? What does this accomplish other than getting you into more trouble?"

He poked his head through the door a little more, trying to get a better look of me, "I wanted to make sure you weren't scared out of your mind Amy. You were crying when you saw the rabbit…and I didn't want to scare you. It was only meant for Billy."

I rolled my eyes softly and crossed my arms across my chest, "No…the Bunny didn't scare me…"

"Then why were you crying?" he asked softly.

I sighed annoyed not wanting to talk about my lingering tears. Plus, it was irritating to converse with him through the door like we were, "Come in Tom…it's frustrating to talk to you through the door."

He shook his head against the door making it rock back and forth as he continued to peek in, "Nuh uh. If I hear the caretakers come up, I'll run away from your room easier. I don't want you in trouble too."

"Really?" I cocked my eyebrow.

"Yeah." he chuckled. "Anyways, you didn't answer my question. If it wasn't the bunny that's making you cry…what is?"

I rubbed my stinging eyes as I whispered my feelings about the situation. I had no shame in telling them to him, and he asked, so I told, "Honestly Tom, I was crying for a few reasons. The first one was that I didn't understand the situation at all. I was crying was because I couldn't comprehend why or how you could hurt such an innocent creature. I never thought you were capable of such hatred…I always thought you were a good boy, that people just misunderstood. I never suspected that you would hurt something…And second…I was so scared for you. I knew how much trouble you were going to get into because of this, and I don't like it when people are in trouble. I don't like hearing the caretakers smack my friends…"

"Amy?" he whispered softly after a second or two of dead silence between us. "I'm your friend?"

I nodded, "I always thought you were. Yes, I know we never really talked before now, but you were never unkind to me. You would always sit across from me during our lessons…and you would stand in front of me if Billy was having a fit. You would always protect me…like a friend would…"

We were quiet again for a few seconds and then he smiled a little, "I'm your friend? Really?"

I nodded softly as the tears leaked out again, "That's another reason why I'm telling you to leave. I don't want to get you into more trouble than you're already in."

He smiled at me and quickly came through the door and surprisingly hugged me. I yelped surprised by this interaction. I've never really been hugged before, let alone by Tom Riddle, a young boy whom I know very little about and who doesn't really show emotion on a general basis…but I enjoyed the hug nonetheless.

He gently pulled away a little and smiled at me, "I'm sorry I scared you Amy. I'll try my best not to scare you to tears again."

I couldn't help but giggle a little because I was so surprised by this action, "Thank you Tom." and honestly…ever since this moment. We've been inseparable. We became partners in crime, two peas in a pod, and not only friends…but best friends. He was my other half…the yin to my yang.

I smiled coming back to my senses as I watched Mrs. Cole tell him that he did a good job on his chores with a small pat on the back. Once Mrs. Cole was done with her endless praising, she went back to her office call to Tom's psychiatrist to talk about this great progress.

He smirked as he approached me at the table doing my homework for school, "Look what you've done to me." he grinned devilishly. "You really have turned me into a _good_ _wittle_ _boy_."

I giggled softly, "Oh come on…you have to admit…you like the praise rather than getting smacks."

"Eh," he smirked. "If I'm not careful, I might start missing them."

I shook my head at his sarcasm, "That's not even funny Tom."

He chuckled, "Oh come on. I'm only kidding Amy."

"Well it's not funny." I giggled hugging onto him. "I don't like it when you get smacks."

He rolled his eyes while standing up and taking my hand, "Oh relax you big worry wart. Come on; let's go to the play room."

I nodded while shutting my books and allowing him to pull me to the play room. It was unusually empty as we entered and I couldn't help but cock my eyebrow at him. "What is this Tom? Where is everyone?"

He shrugged as he sat us down in our usual secluded corner, "I don't know. Who knows what our boneheaded peers do these days?"

I rolled my eyes with a small giggle, "Don't call people boneheaded. It's not nice."

"Well, I'm not nice." he grinned playfully. "Anyways, I got you something."

"You got me something?" I laughed surprised. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion." he grinned pulling a small box out of his pocket and offering it to me. I giggled taking the little box and opening it carefully. With anticipation, I opened it to find one of those amazingly delicious candy ring pops that he knows I love…but where on earth would he of gotten one?! For starters these things are rare around here. Sure, sometimes store owners have them for a small period of time…but usually when the orphanage goes into town for a day, they're always sold out. Second, for some reason, our caretakers hate these amazing little things and always throw them out whenever they see them, so it's not like he found it somewhere in here. Third, if he went to town to even find one for me…how did he get out of the orphanage to do so?! The gates are locked shut and there's no getting out of here…

I beamed at him in disbelief, "Oh my goodness! Where did you find one of these?"

He smirked at my excitement, "Don't worry about that…but I do want to ask you something." he chuckled.

"You do?" I giggled looking at the colourful little candy ring, and then up into his dark eyes.

"Yes." he laughed playfully taking the ring out of the box and getting down on one knee. "Will you marry me Amy Benson?"

I just burst at this unexpected but rather sweet gesture, "You are so ridiculous Tom! We're nine years old! We can't get married!" "Who says?" he chuckled.

"Many people!" I giggled. "It's against the rules!"

"Well," he grinned. "I've never been one to follow the rules."

I rolled my eyes and giggled at him playfully while eyeing the ring, "Am I allowed to eat my engagement ring?"

"Yes…" he smirked knowing that was the right answer.

"Then, yes! I will marry you Tom!" I laughed playfully as I hugged onto him. And…eventually we did get married…well, as much as two nine year olds could get married. We had our ceremony done by Dennis Bishop and exchanged vows of our friendship and promised each other that we would stick to each other until the end.

We were so very happy…We were the bestest of friends. We were each others rocks and we loved each other as much as children could possibly love one another…until that one day.

That one horrid day where he broke his vow to me.

I feel myself tearing up just thinking about his betrayal. I'd thought he cared about me…I thought I was his best friend…I thought he would _never ever_ hurt me…but I was so very wrong.

I think about the incident in the cave a lot of the time. Not the actual events of how he scared and beat the voice out of me and Dennis Bishop…but what he said to me. I always analyze it trying to decipher _why_ he did this to us. Why he'd hurt me in such a way…

"Please Tom!" I remember crying because I was so confused to why he'd hurt me like this and somehow show me such frightening images as if he were purposely trying to scare me. It was like he was showing me visions of the things I most feared. Corpses were surrounding us making me scream in terror…and somehow, I knew he was controlling them. "I don't understand." I sobbed trying to cover my eyes...I wanted to wake up from this nightmare. "I-I thought we were best friends! I thought we were married!"

He sneered darkly, totally out of character from my point of view. It was as if the devil had suddenly possessed him, "You don't understand?! Of course you don't! No one can understand me! No one can understand this power I have!"

I started convulsing on the ground as if a giant wave of pain had washed over my entire body, "Tom please stop!" I cried. "I love you! I understand you! You're my best friend!"

"NO YOU DON'T!" his voice boomed in my head making me weep in pain at his words. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME! YOU NEVER WILL! NONE OF YOU WILL!"

"Tom!" I whimpered. "Please…"

"NO! NONE OF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME!" he pointed his finger at me and the pain shot right back up to maximum levels. I screamed and continued convulsing on the floor as if I were having a seizure as the corpses began closing in on me.

"Make this stop Tom." I sobbed. "Please! I need you! I need you!"

"Well I _don't_ need you!" he whispered darkly, but his voice still boomed in my head as if he were shouting. Every word was like a dagger and it sliced pieces of my heart to shreds with every word he said. "I would have never married you if I knew the power I possessed could do so much! Everyone is so weak and fragile! I could take this power and rule over everyone! _Hurt_ everyone. Make everyone whose hurt me _hurt!"_

"Please Tom," I cried into my hands. "Please, you're making no sense! I don't understand anything! Please, help me make sense of this! I will help you! I-I thought you cared about me."

He laughed threateningly…it was the kind of laugh I thought he'd originally have when he peeked through the door when we first spoke to one another, "You're just about as good as Billy Stubb's rabbit."

And that was the statement that had drove me mad. I cried now because of that appalling declaration. Absolutely nothing hurt more than those words. He could hit me, kick me, cut me and torture me all he wanted…but that statement hurt the most…I was now the innocent creature that he wanted to kill…I was just like Billy's pet bunny…

Every time I think about Tom Riddle now it just makes me cry. The betrayal was so sudden…so immediate and unexpected. It was sixty years ago…and it still pains me to this day. I haven't spoken a word since that incident in the cave because there's been absolutely nothing to say…

My best friend…my yin…my rock…my husband…my Tom…had betrayed me in the worst way possible. He turned me into his prey like he did Billy's rabbit all those years ago. And he never looked back…


	17. Amycus Carrow, Ready

Amycus Carrow

I scowled at the headline of the Daily Prophet as I looked down at a happy picture of Igor Karkaroff. RELEASED IN EXCHANGE FOR INFORMATION. What the _fuck_ does that mean?! Annoyed, I read on to discover how Igor, a man who had once comforted my sister, turned in several of our fellow death eaters in exchange for his release.

What a bloody fucking coward. I slammed the newspaper onto the table and ripped his happy face apart. "What a fucker…" I scowled down at the torn pieces of his face once I'd finished.

Everyone is getting thrown into Azkaban now! Everyone that had sheltered my sister and I…our family, they're all gone now. Ever since the Dark Lord fell…everyone's been getting caught…I scowled at the paper again. It's because of assholes like Igor we're all going to get caught eventually…

Well, that's not going to happen to Alecto and I.

I wish I could somehow help our friends, but there's no way I can without potentially getting killed. I need to protect my sister. That's my purpose in life, and even though it kills me to have all my friends and family locked up, Alecto is my true family. She's my number one priority.

We've been on the run for so long now; it feels almost impossible to stay still. Alecto and I have fled the country and now live in a little flat in Sweden. Sure, we live amongst muggles, which makes me sick to my stomach, but still…we'll be safe here.

I'm not going to let my sister get thrown into jail. And if that means staying away from the country and living amongst these dung eating muggles, I will do it.

"Amycus?" my sister's voice came into the room surprising me. I turned to find her with a concerned expression on her face. She looked exactly like she did on that very night our mother was killed, only a little older. She was sixteen now and I guess that makes me twenty one.

We're all we got…and we got to make the best of it.

"Yes Alecto?" I nodded finally answering her.

"Why did you rip up the paper?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

I shook my head. I didn't want her to know that some of her friends had been locked up into Azkaban. "The news bothers me." I shrugged.

"Oh no!" she hurried to the shreds of paper and tried placing them together again. "Did someone else get caught?"

"No Alecto." I shook my head and took her hands from rearranging the shreds of paper. "Please don't."

"Amycus!" she shouted annoyed as she tried to frantically arrange the pieces of paper to see what I was protecting her from. "Please!" she yelped. Usually I would just allow her to do as she wishes…she's not a little girl anymore and deserves to have the ability to make her own decisions. But with something like this…she's so weak.

Ever since our mother died, she's been so fragile on the inside. She attached herself to our new friends as if they were our true family…and they are our family…but they're different compared to _us_. Her and I. We're related by blood…and if I had to choose between her and a fellow death eater, there's no question of which person I'd pick.

"Amycus! P-Please!" she tried to reach for the paper shreds again as her breathing became shaky. "Who - who e-else got thrown in-into Az-Azkaban?!"

I pulled her into my chest comfortingly and shhed her. She tried to push me away to get back to the papers, but eventually gave up and started crying into my chest, "Amycus!" she cried softly. "W-who else got th-thrown into Azkaban?!"

"Alecto," I whispered. "Calm down."

"No!" she yelped and shook furiously. "I refuse to calm down Amycus! I-I need to know what happened to our family and you won't let me!"

"Alecto, shh." I hugged her and she hugged back. "It's alright Sweetheart. It's going to be okay."

"Who else?" she whimpered softly.

I sighed not wanting to tell her, but she's not going to calm down until she knows, "A lot of people Alect."

"But how?" she looked up at me with her bright eyes tearful.

The look broke my heart. It was the same expression she had the night our mother died…I couldn't help but choke up a bit; however I shook my head blocking away the tears. I needed to be strong right now. I needed to be her rock. I swallowed the lump in my throat and wiped underneath her eyes with my thumb, "You don't want to know Alecto."

She nodded, "Yes I do."

"No you don't…I wish I didn't know."

"Well I _do_!" she wept into my chest. "We're a team Amycus! We're supposed to tell each other everything! I don't want you hurting by yourself when we could grieve together! Please Amycus! Let me be in the loop! I'm not a little girl anymore," she cried softly as she looked up at me, "You don't always have to be the rock…"

I couldn't help but laugh a little at her stubborn nature, unfortunately, blowing my cover, it came out shakier…weaker…than I wanted it to. Tears slipped from my eyes and I wiped them away immediately.

I didn't want her to see me vulnerable…I'm not vulnerable in her eyes and I don't plan on making myself that way.

"Amycus," her eyes were still strained, but they'd stopped leaking. "Please don't hide. We're a team. We've been a team our whole lives! You shouldn't have to hide from me."

I felt my lips quiver at her sweetness, but I blocked my tears again, "I'm not going to let you see me weakened Alecto. You're hurting enough. You don't need to see your big brother being a snivelling baby too."

"Are you calling me a snivelling baby?" she giggled softly as she wiped her eyes again.

"No." I chuckled. "You're allowed to be scared."

"So are you." she looked at me and touched my face. "You don't need to be my strong big brother all the time you know…You're allowed to be a snivelling baby like me sometimes. I can be your rock too you know…I can handle it."

"I know you can," I smiled painfully. "But I don't want you to have to."

"I know you don't want me to." she whispered. "But you should let me in on the loop…that way we can work together and figure out a solution. It's not fair for you to make all the stressful decisions by yourself. I can help. I'm old enough now."

I nodded for a second but then shook my head again, "I can't Alecto…you're still a little girl in my eyes. I promised to myself and to Mum that I would protect you from these kinds of things. I don't want Mum to be disappointed in me…" I whispered painfully.

"She's not going to be." she confirmed determinedly with another wipe of her eyes. "She's proud of you Amycus. I know she is! You've been the most protective and best big brother in the world to me. You always put me before anything else…including yourself. I just think you deserve to have someone put you first for once. I want to be there to comfort you when you need me…like now. This news that's in the Daily Prophet…what was it? It obviously scared you…What happened?"

I sighed reluctantly. I didn't want her to know about Igor's awful betrayal. I remember when we'd first entered the death eater's headquarters she was so scared. She didn't know what to think of the place, and that's when Igor approached us. He reassured her that we would be safe here and that we would be a great addition to the family.

He comforted her…and then betrayed us in the end…betrayed our family.

I told her of his betrayal and it surprised me that she remained as calm as she did. We had magically repaired the newspaper and she was now reading it for herself. She looked very solemn as she looked at the picture of a smug Igor walking out of the courthouse.

"So…" she pushed the paper away and looked over at me softly. "What do we do?"

I shrugged as I sat down at the table with her, "Can we do anything? I mean…the Dark Lord is dead…and all of our supporters are in Azkaban other than the Malfoys…and I'm sure they won't help us…it's just you and me…What can we do?"

She shook her head. That answer wasn't good enough for her, "I don't like how he just thinks he can get away with this. I mean; look at him," she referred to the picture. "What a weasel…he thinks he can just get away with this?"

It annoyed me too. His look was infuriating. It was a look of superiority. The two faced bastard…I looked up at Alecto again, "What do you think we should do?"

She smirked, "Letting me make some of the decisions now, are we?"

I chuckled, "Yes…now, what's your decision on this?"

She contemplated for a few silent minutes. I allowed her to do so as I made us both some breakfast. After I'd made some toast she then finally came to a conclusion, "That bastard has to pay Amycus."

I nodded, "I agree on that point."

"But how…" she thought. "It's not like we could find him! I mean, we have no idea where that bastard is now! He's probably in hiding _from_ us."

"Or he thinks we won't do anything," I shrugged. "I mean; we were the whelps of the death eaters. He probably thinks if we're not already dead, we won't have the courage to come after him."

"Well, that's where he's wrong." she said strongly. "I think we need to find him Amycus. It's because of him most of our family is in Azkaban right now. And I'm pretty sure if the Dark Lord was still alive, he'd want him dead…I mean come on! He's basically helping the people who killed our Mum by turning in everyone! The Dark Lord would be disgusted!

"I honestly think we need to find him…and at least shadow him until we figure out what we're going to do with his ass." she sighed finally finishing her little speech.

I thought for a minute. She was right. Igor, through his actions, basically said that it was okay that those muggles killed our mother that night. Not only am I disgusted, but I _know _the Dark Lord would be too. Lord Voldemort took us under his wing when Alecto and I had absolutely nothing…he became our new parent and nurtured us…the least we could do is take care of this traitor for him.

I nodded, "I agree…for the sake of our Mum and to avenge our Dark Lord…we need to do something. We can't just sit here and watch all of our friends get thrown into Azkaban. We can't stand for this…"

She nodded with a chuckle, "So it's agreed upon? We're going to find Igor and grant him with his punishment for being such a two faced bastard?"

I smirked. She really was ready for this kind of thing. Though it kills me to say this…I know she's not a little girl anymore. She's ready, and I know she and I will figure this out together. We're a team and we will find a way to avenge our family, "It's agreed upon."


	18. Andromeda Tonks, Gifts

…ha ha ha…~Awkward silence~…yeah! I know it's been a while…~more awkward silence~…Mmmm…I'm sorry! I've been so busy the past few months with school and family stuff! I'm sorry it's been so long! I miss writing and I'm happy to _finally_ give you guys something! And it's really long too! So anyways…I'm sorry again! And I hope you enjoy my take on Andromeda! J

Andromeda Tonks

"_Really_ Narcissa?" Bella taunted our youngest sister with an ironic narcissistic tone. "That's who you're crushing on huh? Cute…but I prefer the darker type. You know…the one who's not afraid to get a bit of dirt underneath their fingernails type of guy."

"Don't make fun of him Bella!" Cissy crossed her arms slightly offended by our older sister's words. "Lucius is a fine specimen if I do say so myself! And sure…he may like to be cleaner than the average male, but _still_! At least he doesn't look filthy like Rodolphus does! He looks like he just rolled out of mud bath!"

"Mmm." Bella hymned happily thinking about her sweetheart and taking an apple out of the fruit bowl that the house elf brought to our room. "The dirtier the better sweet Cissy." she winked at her.

"Ugh!" Narcissa huffed at her. "You always have to turn it into a sexual innuendo! Don't you Bella?"

Bella laughed like an evil villain that you see in those children movies, "Of course Cissy! But be thankful! At least you have a somebody! Unlike our Dromeda!" she turned to me with an evil smile waiting for my reaction.

She wasn't going to get one though. I rolled my eyes at her, "What? Who cares?"

"Everyone does Dromeda!" she yelped. "I mean, every _normal_ teenaged girl does!"

"I am normal." I shrugged…Like I said…she's not getting a reaction out of me. That's what she waits for and that's what keeps her going on these bother fests. She loves bothering Narcissa and I about everything, but when it comes to boys…it's non-stop.

"You're hardly normal Dromeda." she rolled her eyes at me harshly. "No wonder you can't get a good pureblood to make eyes at you."

That's the thing Bella; I smiled thinking to myself as she turned away from me. I don't want nor _need_ a pureblood like you desperately do. I'm perfectly happy with my muggle-born boyfriend that neither you nor any of our family will ever know about.

That's right! I'm dating a Muggle born! Ted Tonks to be exact!

I smiled to myself thinking of him and how rebellious he's making me. I don't even know what my family would do if they knew I was dating him. Probably go even crazier than they already are…that sounds about right.

I don't even know how it happened…Ted and I. We just…happened. It was as easy as breathing. He makes me so happy…happier than I've ever been. And who would have guessed a pureblood Slytherin and a muggle born Hufflepuff could become not only lovers, but best friends?

Ted is my other half…we've become partners in crime, the best duo Professor Flitwick has ever seen in Charms class and we've practically pulled out each others hearts and worn them on our sleeves.

Ted has made me such a better person. I'd never ever admit it to him, but I was such _a bitch _before I even thought about a guy like him. I thought I was superior over people just because of my so called "good blood". But Ted made me modest and less self centred…more good…more like a Hufflepuff really!

I chuckled to myself as I looked out the window that I was sitting in. Right now, my sisters and I were in the sitting room just admiring the fact that we were on our Easter Holidays. It really does feel great to have a break from school. It's nice to escape the stressful atmosphere of my OWLS and just take a nice vacation.

We are also mourning too though…over the fact that they don't have their "boys" to join them. I rolled my eyes at them, "You guys are freaking lucky," I thought to myself as they complained. "At least you guys don't have to hide your boyfriend."

It's not that I'm ashamed of Ted. No, not at all. What I'm afraid of is how my family will treat him because of his blood status. He doesn't deserve to be treated the way I know my family will treat him. Hell! I'm being positive…they'll probably hurt him! Or even worse….

I winced at the thought, "No don't even think about that! There's no need to think about your family killing Ted. Sure, they're crazy…but hopefully not that crazy."

"Dromeda!" Bella shouted at me. "What the hell are you thinking about?! You're off in another world right now!"

"Oh!" I came back to my senses. "Sorry. I was just zoned out. I'm tired of hearing you two complain about your boys when we're on vacation!"

"Oh you're just jealous!" Bella cackled. "Anyways, I'm bored. Anyone want to come and annoy the house elf with me?"

"What do you mean by annoy?" Cissy cocked her eyebrow at her.

"You know," Bella grin manically. "Kick it around a bit. Smack it into giving us sweets. You know…the easy going stuff."

"I'll go with you," Narcissa stood up with her like she usually does. She would literally lick Bella's boots clean of dirt if she asked.

"How about you Dromeda?" Bella smirked. "You coming too?"

I rolled my eyes, "No thank you. I'm comfy sitting here."

"Fine, you'll miss out on all the fun."

"I'm fine thanks." I nodded and looked out the window again to see the sunshine as they left the room…You know what I wish I could do? Go outside, but I'm not allowed outside by myself. According to my Mother, Snatchers could come out of the woods and steal us if we're not careful. And when we're by ourselves…that just makes us even more of a target.

I don't believe her though. I've talked to people in town before and we don't have any Snatchers whatsoever in our area. And if we do, they're in our county jail waiting to be shipped off to Azkaban.

I sighed to myself. Oh well…I'm the closest to outside I'm going to get. I'm on the bottom floor, in our sitting room, literally sitting in the window…how much closer can I get?

I leant the side of my head against the window pane with a tired sigh. I guess I can see why they're complaining about the fact that can't see their boyfriends…I can relate with how their feeling. They only thing different is that I can't complain with them.

Oh silly me, stop your ridiculousness. You're on vacation for goodness sakes! Enjoy it! You deserve this break from your OWLS! You've worked hard! You need at least a little break! Enjoy this time at home.

I smiled drifting off into my own thoughts. It felt nice to feel the sun against my skin. Even if it was through the window, it still felt nice. My thoughts swirled through many different scenes. They started off with walking on the beach and then Ted ran towards me. Then the scene switched off to doing homework for OWLS with him. He was holding my hand and stroking it affectionately. Eventually the scene swirled off again and then I could hear him shouting my name. "Dromeda!"

I smiled softly thinking about him calling for me. I called his name back softly, but that's when a soft knock made me flinch out of my trance. "Dromeda!"

I felt shocked as I stared through the window at Ted. I laughed in such surprise, "What are you doing here?" but then shock and a fear entered my system. I was terrified that my family might see him, "Oh my god Ted, what are you doing here?!"

"Coming to get you out of the house." he smiled handsomely.

"Am I dreaming?" I laughed nervously. "Please god let me be dreaming."

He rolled his eyes at me, "Come on Dromeda."

"Wait!" I shook my head. "How did you get here?! And - And -"

"Dromeda!" he beamed at me playfully. "Come out here and I'll answer all your questions! I promise!"

"But, I can't! I don't want you to get into trouble if we're caught!" I yelped at him through the window.

"Would you live a little?" he grinned. "Come on, I have a basket full of your favourite sweets! And a blanket for a picnic which I know you love…plus there's me…so maybe that might convince you."

"Damn you!" I gigged at him. "Fine! You convinced me! But get out of the yard! I'll be out! Just get out of site and I'll meet you in the front of the driveway."

"Deal." he beamed and then disappeared with his basket into the bushes.

I laughed; I have to be dreaming right now. There's no way Ted's here. But hey! That just means that we can't get into trouble if we get caught! At least…I hope!

I grinned heading to the front door. I was stealthy enough to get past any watching eyes and quickly headed out the front door. I ran into the bushes and got myself hidden well enough just so I could find the driveway.

I felt like I was searching for some sign of the driveway for an hour, but it was probably only five minutes. I sighed frustrated because I was impatient. Now that I know he's here, I gotta see him! I crouched down further making sure I couldn't be seen as I ran to the next section of hedge. The leaves brushed against my face like gentle caresses that Ted himself would give me. My heart picked up and wanted him more. Where is he?! I laughed running through the hedge. Where -

BAM!

"Oh!" I yelped as I fell backwards.

"Dromeda!" a worried voice hit my eardrum. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

I looked up to see my Ted's bright eyes. I beamed, I didn't even care that we had just ran into each other. I just laughed and playfully pushed him, "You're ridiculous!"

"I am?" he laughed with me surprised.

"Yes you are!" I giggled. "Absolutely!"

He grinned as he helped me up and gently wiped my dress clear of any foliage, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, perfectly fine." I beamed taking his arms to stop him from wiping the dirt that had already been long gone. "But what are you doing here? You know what my family will do if they see you! I don't want you to get into trouble!"

"Dromeda," he gave me a teasing disappointed face. "Do you honestly believe _I _could last _all _of Easter break without seeing your beautiful face?"

I blushed flattered and giggled shyly. He always knew how to make me shut up with his charming ways. He knew how to make me feel good about myself…he knew how to actually make me feel…pretty.

Honestly, I didn't think I was even nice looking before I met him…My family would always comment on how I'm the ugly duckling out of the three of us. Bella was pretty in a dark way and she always has been; she's the snow white out of us. Her skin is as white as snow and her hair is dark like ebony. Narcissa is the opposite. Like Bella, she has light skin, but her hair is as bright as the sun. I can already see her being the trophy wife of a rich man…and then there's plain old me.

Good old Andromeda…she'll always be there to watch over the house while her two sisters go off and get married…I felt like a joke.

But now, with Ted in my life I feel like the prettiest girl on earth. Because of him, I feel like I can actually be something. That I am something more than a well bred monkey who can do as the other monkeys do.

I giggled at him, "Well thank you for coming for me. You always somehow know how to make my life more interesting!"

He grinned at me, "Now come on! Let's get out of here so we can have our picnic party."

It took us a few minutes to get out of the hedge, but when we did, I couldn't help but laugh a little bit. I think it was more nervous than anything and I think he picked up on that, "Don't be nervous Dromeda."

"I'm sorry." I giggled playfully. "You make me so rebellious Ted. I don't know what to do with you sometimes."

"Well, how about you let me take you on a picnic."

"Um okay…but let's not go too far away."

"Oh come on!" he smiled. "My brother didn't teach me to apparate for nothing!"

I rolled my eyes, "You shouldn't know how to do that Ted. It's illegal."

"Live a little." he grinned at me. "Come on. I have a place I really want to show you." I mmmed nervously which made him smirk, "What? Is my Dromeda scared?"

"No!" I yelped. "It's just -"

"Oh blah blah…" he smirked playfully. "Stop making excuses Love. Come on! I promise we won't be late. I just miss you and I want to take you out."

I smiled up at him a little, "You promise we won't be out too late?"

"Promise," he reached his hand out for me and I shyly took it. "Now," he squeezed my hand. "You trust me?"

"Of course I do." I giggled.

"Then don't freak out when we apparate." he gave me his devilishly handsome smile and everything out of the blue felt unbelievable pressed inward. We were apparating, and it finished as quick as it began. But honestly, it was one of the most disorienting experiences I've ever faced. My vision went entirely black, I couldn't breath and everything felt completely squished. It honestly felt like someone was trying to squeeze me out of a toothpaste bottle. And just as I thought I was about to implode, the world came back to normal and I was able to see once again.

"My goodness…" I felt dizzy as I grabbed a hold of my head, thinking that maybe it would stop my imbalance.

"Woah!" Ted took my wrists and sat me down on what felt like a rock. "Slow down. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I nodded still grasping my forehead. "I just feel a little off balance."

"You did good." he smiled softly at me.

"Thank you." I giggled. "You did really good too. You got us here in one piece."

"I know." he smiled in glee. "I've been practicing like crazy."

"Well it's paid off." I grinned finally feeling that I was steady enough to look up. "Wow."

We were in a forest…but it definitely wasn't your average one. It looked like it came right out of a fairy tale. The trees were enormous and greener than emeralds in the sunlight. As the wind blew, you could hear the whistle of the leaves…it was like they were singing.

They surrounded us and a small clearing that was home to an aqua blue babbling brook. The water sparkled as it's unrealistic colour zoomed into my irises. But it wasn't only the water that was shining; little fish kept jumping in and out of the water like dolphins do when they play. Their scales sparkled with the suns playful rays onto the shore where more beautiful green foliage was placed.

I could hear wildlife everywhere around us. Birds were all singing their songs of choice, but they all blended together to make it sound like an orchestra playing the most beautiful and complicated pieces known to man.

I smiled surprised seeing a little red fox run through the grass and into the flowerbeds that held too many species to count. It sniffed a tulip in appreciation at it's surroundings and then darted off again into the woods.

My eyes followed the red until they couldn't see it any longer and then they turned back to the clearing. I giggled in amazement looking at the beautiful area, "This is absolutely extraordinary."

"Told you you'd like it." he grinned laying the blanket down. "And guess what? You haven't even seen the best part."

"There's more?!" I laughed surprised.

"Way more." he grinned tapping next to him so I'd sit down on the blanket. "You just gotta be patient."

"Patience?" I giggled. "You know that's not my strong suit."

"I know," he smirked. "But it's worth it. I promise. Here look, we'll have lunch and that'll eat up some time."

And an excellent lunch we had. He made so many delicious things for us to enjoy together. Sandwiches, salads, pastas and _so many_ deserts. Pies, cupcakes, tarts, éclairs, donuts, cookies, brownies! Simply, we had a humongous feast all to ourselves and it filled us to the very brim.

"My goodness!" I laughed. "That was absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much."

"No problem." he smirked at me. "Glad you liked it."

"I loved it! And I love this place! It's all so beautiful!"

"Well, I'm glad you like it here." said a teeny tiny voice behind me.

I yelped surprised by this voice and turned instantly making Ted laugh, "Relax Dromeda."

"Yes Dromeda." said that little voice again. "Don't be scared. We won't hurt you."

"Ted," I looked around trying to find the source of the little voice. "What's going on?"

"Look on the basket." he smirked.

I did as he said and was incredibly surprised by what I saw. A teeny tiny woman sat there sassily with crossed legs and a big smile on her face. "There you are. Now you finally get it." she smiled hugely at me. "It's nice to finally meet you."

I giggled so surprised by this encounter. I didn't know what to make of the situation. Ted laughed at my silence, "Wow…we finally got her to shut up."

I smacked him gently which made him and the little fairy like creature laugh. Her laugh was high pitched and very girly sounding. I smiled looking at her in fascination. She wore a knee length dress which looked to be made out of these emerald like leaves. Her hair was the colour of the bark on the trees and her skin was the palest I have ever seen. She looked so fair she practically sparkled in this lighting. And strangely adding to the sparkling effect, jewels of emerald and sapphire were imbedded into her skin at her neck and wrists to just add to the entire image.

I giggled softly at her realizing that I must look like a bumbling idiot, "I'm sorry. I'm staring."

"No no no!" she grinned. "Most people look like that when they first see us."

"I'm Andromeda." I smiled.

"I know." the little creature grinned at me. "Ted has told us a lot about you."

"Really?" I smiled surprised.

"Yes." she nodded with her high voice ringing like a little wind chime in my ears. "He speaks very highly of you."

I felt my cheeks burn up with rouge, "He does?"

"Mmmhmm," the creature nodded again. "And I can see why."

"You can?"

"Yes…we sense these things. You have a pure heart but it is surrounded by turmoil in your life. Icky gross, muddy stuff."

"Yeah…" I chuckled softly. "I guess you can call my family turmoil…"

She chuckled, "They are obsessed by blood purity aren't they?"

I nodded at her and then realized that wings were sprouting from her back, "Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry for asking, but what are you? Are you a fairy?"

Ted laughed with the creature, "No no no! Fairies are our cousins." she continued. "We are a much more developed in the mind area." she tapped her head to make her point. "Fairies are more obsessed with their looks."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"Oh don't be sorry Sweetheart." she smiled kindly as she flew up into the sky and waving all around her as if she were signalling for people to come to her. "But to answer your question, we are nymphs." she grinned and that's when hundreds upon hundreds of little creatures that looked like her, came out from their hiding places and sparkled in the sunlight.

I beamed looking all around me, to see all kinds of nymphs surrounding us with their sparkle. They looked like stars twinkling in the sky, but the unbelievable part was that they were literally right in front of us. I giggled realizing that they were putting on a little show for us. I could see them dancing ballet and singing mystical little melodies that my mind couldn't even imagine hearing.

I beamed watching each and everyone of them make the already beautiful scene even more majestic. I felt enlightened and I couldn't help but beam at Ted. "This is extraordinary."

"It's not over yet Dromeda." he whispered into my ear which brought me to my full attention again.

I watched the nymphs put on their beautiful little show of lights, colours and dancing until they all finished with a bow. I beamed clapping at the extraordinary performance and they all smiled at me. "You shouldn't clap for us Dromeda." the first nymph that talked to me approached us again. "We should be clapping for you." "What?" I laughed. "I don't understand. You just put on that amazing private show for the both of us! It was fantastic!"

"Well thank you Sweetheart, but it couldn't of been done without you and Ted with us. You see, Nymphs magic can only be that powerful in the presence of true love. Ted had been searching for us for quite some time so he could give you a treat. It's hard to find a cove such as this, but when you do, you know it's for love." she smiled.

I looked at Ted with tears in my eyes. He would really go to all this trouble, just for me? Someone would do something like this just to make me happy? Someone loves me that much? How? How could that be possible? How could someone possibly love me like that?

"I can't believe you." I giggled shakily as I blocked the tears. "You really must love me to go through all that trouble."

He smirked, "Did you ever doubt it?"

"Not one bit." I smiled at him. "I just never thought I could find a guy that cared for me at all, let alone find someone as amazing as you."

He pecked me tenderly, "I love you Andromeda."

A few more tears leaked from my eyes out of sheer amazement and happiness, "I love you too Ted."

"Oh Dear," the nymph chuckled. "Don't cry."

"I'm sorry." I laughed as I wiped my tears. "I'm a big baby."

"You aren't." she smiled. "We just have one more thing to give you two before the sunset comes and we must leave."

I laughed in disbelief, "There's _more_? Seriously?"

"You do?" Ted cocked his eyebrow in surprise at the fairy. I guess he didn't even know about this last gift.

She nodded at him, "Yeah, nymphs all have a gift for you two."

"You do?" he said again in surprise. "But else do you have to give us? You've already given me the greatest gift that you have to offer us. I couldn't ask for any more."

"Oh," she shook her head at him. "Without you two or any other forms of true love, us nymphs wouldn't exist. So we have made you this to show our appreciation." she turned her self and chimed. "Bring it out guys!"

Hundreds of nymphs then brought out the most beautiful wreath I had ever seen. It was full of the most delicate flowers and the greenest shrubbery. It sparkled like the river and looked as if it were made out of the most exquisite jewels known to man. It was made so carefully, and so honestly. Love and care had been put into this wreath and a smile just came to my face when I saw it. Ted was silent, in awe.

"That's a gift of the nymphs." he sighed in disbelief.

"It's beautiful." I beamed at it. "What does it mean?"

"The nymphs only give these out to the truest of couples." he explained while still mystified as he gazed at it. "Couples that they know treasure each others company. They are symbols of pure love, innocent lives…and trust. They are the gift of the nymphs!" he laughed in disbelief at me. "They are so incredibly rare."

"I can see why." I smiled looking at the gorgeous wreath. "It looks like so much effort and care was put into it."

"Like love." he whispered to me and I smiled again. "Only one wreath is given from each nymph clan and they chose us…that basically means our love is eternal my Dromeda."

I smiled with tears coming down my face, "It does?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "You don't have to worry about what your family thinks. Our love is stronger than their hatred towards muggle borns. Our love is stronger than hate…" he stroked my face. "And this piece of art…the gift of the nymphs is just physical proof of the love that we have."

The nymphs smiled at us as they gave us the magnificent wreath. I was afraid to touch it to be honest. It looked so very delicate, and I was afraid that it would disappear as soon as my fingertips brushed against the emerald foliage.

"Thank you." Ted and I beamed at all the beautiful nymphs surrounding us. Ted continued though, "Thank you for everything that you've done. You've made us so happy…and I can't believe you would give us your sacred gift of the nymphs. It's extraordinary."

The head fairy smiled at us again warmly, "Instead of the Gift of the Nymphs…we instead call it Nymphadora.


	19. Angelina Johnson, Light

Angelina Johnson

I sighed deeply as the death eaters apparated out of the room to go meet their master for the one hour. One hour…huh, nobody's going to give Harry up. They might as well keep on fighting. I'm sure as hell not going to stop. Who the fuck would stop and turn Harry over now?!

My breath was spacey and uneven. Everything just screamed in pain as I barely moved an inch. I could feel blood dripping down my face like a tear falling from an eyelash. So innocent, but behind it, there was such pain.

I touched the sickly sticky fluid and grimaced realizing it was coming from my temple. "Ugh." I moaned trying to walk, but unable to. "Where the hell is everybody?!" I talked to myself. I wondered where all my friends were and if they were all right.

I limped towards the Great Hall and whimpered with every step I took. "Fuck." I whispered in pain. Sure, I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. I had to find out if my friends were alright and that was my motivation to keep going.

It was the longest walk ever though…Not only was I physically in pain, but mentally as well. I felt tears straining to come out of my eyes as I saw the destruction those bastards had brought, but I had to remain strong. The courtyard was crumbled to pieces. The beautiful trees were gone…the little benches that we all used to sit and laugh on were now rubble…not a bird in sight. It was all gone.

I could see witches and wizards screaming, trying to find their loved ones…their children. Basically their hearts and not getting any answers. Even worse than that, I could see families coming together and crying over their loved one's dead corpse. I saw children looking down at their mother or father, and realizing they could never speak to them, touch them, or get a hug again. I could see new orphans hugging their parents' dead bodies, asking desperately asking for them to wake up. I could see mothers and fathers crying over their children, who would never ever look up at them again with a happy smile...or call for them to come and see their works of art…or for any other reason…Dead…everyone was just dead.

All I could hear was wailing and crying in the wind.

I choked up as I finally made it into the Great Hall, hoping to see some sort of improvement, but there wasn't really one to see. Everything was destroyed. Tapestries burnt, tables barely standing. Statues missing chunks and glass spread out across the room.

I sniffed and put myself together as I limped painfully through the room trying to find my friends. I can't have tears right now. I need to be strong. If I start crying now, I won't be able to stop.

As I shuffled through the hall, I could see teachers coming together trying to figure out the next plan of attack against these menaces, but obviously coming up with nothing. Professor McGonagall looked so tired, and the dirtiest I've ever seen her before. She looked so worn down…it was hard seeing my head of house in such a state.

I glowered down seeing my school in such a way. How could anyone do this to us? And just over Harry? Harry's a great guy! How could anyone hate him?!

Some stickiness touched my mouth and I could taste blood now. I coughed it out of my mouth, trying to get the awful, disgusting irony taste from my lips. "Gross." I spit the red liquid out as I limped towards a table, unable to walk anymore.

I sat and just recollected myself before I got up to go searching again. I closed my eyes and laid my head back trying to wake myself up from this horrible dream. How could this be real? Honestly. This has to be some horrible dream that some sick movie that Fred and I watched put into my head. Damn…I wish.

"Angelina!" someone called to me, awakening me from my fantasies. "Angelina! Thank god you're okay!" someone called again and I beamed seeing Alicia running up to me. I wanted to run to her as well, but I couldn't manage to get up.

She wrapped her arms around me in relief; "We thought you were dead!" her voice was shaking as if she were crying. "We were so worried about you!"

"Don't cry Alicia!" I hugged her back as much as I could. "I'm okay. Just hurting kind of badly…that's all."

"Oh thank goodness!" she came away with relieved tears streaming down her cheeks. "Come! Everyone's so worried about you! Do you need help?"

I brushed her tears away, because they were breaking my heart…and I had to keep the tears away if I wanted to remain strong. "Please." I nodded at her. As she helped me to a standing position, I had to ask, "Is everyone okay?"

"From what we know, I think so." she nodded as she pulled my arm over her shoulder. "Katie, Oliver, Trish and Adrian are okay.""What about Fred?" my voice shook, but I cleared my throat to stop it.

"We don't know." she answered truthfully. "We haven't seen him yet. But I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah." I nodded reassuring myself. Him and George know how to handle themselves. I'm sure he's fine as well. And that's the one thing I can feel confident about.

We walked for what felt like ages until we finally came up to a Katie and Oliver snuggled into each other. They looked dirty as hell, and beat up. Oliver was sporting a black eye and a huge gauge to the face. Katie was desperately trying not to cry, but her face was shining from faded tears.

She smiled at me as we approached; "Thank god!" she stood up and hugged me. "I was so scared you were gone Angelina!" she hugged me tightly and I hugged her back as best as I could.

"Still going strong." I smiled reassuringly. "Where's Trish?"

"Oh…" Katie looked down sadly. "She went with Adrian. Apparently, Terence Higgs was found dead."

"Wait," I thought out loud. "That was Adrian's best friend."

"Yeah." Katie's tears started to stream down her face again. "You should have seen the look on his face. He was trying to stay so strong for everyone, but when he heard that…he just broke down. It couldn't even be helped. Trish was bawling as well, but that just killed her more to hear such a thing. It was so awful to watch. They just looked so broken…"

I swallowed hard thinking of such a thing. Adrian's not one to show emotion to us Gryffindors, but the fact that he just broke down like that…without warning, must have been so hard to watch…and to think of poor Trish crying over the death of a loved one just sunk me down lower.

"This has gone too fucking far." I whispered shakily. "How could someone cause this much destruction over one person? How the hell can a person have this much hatred in them?"

"Voldemort _isn't_ a person." said someone from behind us. We all turned to see Ginny Weasley approaching us, with tears streaming down her face. "He is a fucking _devil_." she cried.

"Ginny!" I looked at her happily. Anyone, who's still alive, I'm just so happy to see! Hell, even if that bitch Cho Chang came up to me right now, I'd hug her to death! I winced with the sudden movement, but smiled at her still. "I'm so happy to see you!"

She shook her head and started crying harder as she realized that I was happy to see her. I motherly cleared her tears, "Ginny what's happened?"

"I-I -" her voice shook. "I-I just saw so many people…dead…I-I don't understand how the world just came crashing in on us."

"I know," I hugged her. "Don't worry, everything seems bad now, but it'll be okay. Harry knows what he's doing."

"I'm so worried about him." she cried softly.

"I bet." I chuckled. "Stupid bastard, he's so damn heroic."

She chuckled softly and looked at the group, "Do you want to keep my Mum and I company? Fred and George should be back soon and I'm sure we all could use a laugh or two."

We all nodded agreeing. I needed to see my Fred. I need a real smile to come to my face right now. Not these fake ones that I put on just to make everyone else feel better. I need Fred's smile…He can always make my world better in all of this darkness…I need him, and I know he probably needs me right now. He really is my light when everything is so very dark. Funny…I've never told him anything like that before. I guess I figured it would sound cheesy, but that shouldn't matter anymore…

It's always when you're in these life threatening situations you get an epiphany about the ones you love! I need to tell him how I feel…I have to! Before I can't and the world eats us whole! When I see him next…he has to know that he is my world entire. Him and his smile, his laughter, his bright brown eyes, his freckly face, his world…him.

I need to tell him the words I've never said. I know it's strange timing, but it has to be done. Not only for Fred though, I have to tell everyone how I feel about them before it's too late. It's in situations like this you truly realize how much you've taken for granted in your life. The little things…like a smile, a hug or a kiss from your loved ones perhaps. Or something as simple and yet so beautiful as the sentence "I love you."

We all take these for granted, and it's time for us to stop it. It's time for _me _to stop it. Know what Angelina?! Suck it up! You're going to do it! When you see Fred, you're going to tell him those three sacred words that you should have told him a long time ago, "I love you."

I smiled to myself as I whispered those words again under my breath. I grinned in fact. I was ready and I couldn't wait to see my red headed knight in shining armour beaming at me again. I couldn't wait to see him realize that I was alive and still fighting for us. I couldn't wait to tell him that I loved him. But overall, I couldn't wait to kick Voldemort's ass and spend the rest of my life with him.


End file.
